


It just shimmers

by septnanis



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Drag Queens, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Angst, Drama, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Oral Sex, POV Multiple, Photography, Romance, RuPaul's Drag Race References, Sexual Content, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 05:32:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 34,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17543636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/septnanis/pseuds/septnanis
Summary: Sometimes Sora takes pictures of themed weddings for cash, sometimes he likes to see how long he can stand on several inch heels before he falls over. Luckily, he has a supportive boyfriend.The Sora is a photographer slash occasional drag queen and Riku is a partner in an architectural firm that absolutely nobody asked for AU.





	1. Chapter 1

Kairi was such a jerk and Sora was never going to forgive her.

 

“You look fine!” She turned around and gave his hair a little ruffle, which she only did when she tagged along to his corporate photoshoots and she felt he needed to look more professional.

 

It was Friday night, going on eleven o'clock and for some reason Kairi thought it was absolutely necessary to drag him out to a party that he’d been invited to via his agent. He’d done a photoshoot a few months ago for a huge architectural firm. Some of the skyscrapers they were passing were designed by them. It had been very nerve wracking, very stressful and it had paid _very_ well.

 

He was thankful for the job, ever since then he’d been getting job after job, and he’d managed to move on from small weddings and punk band gigs downtown that paid two hundred bucks for the night.

 

“You know this will be an amazing chance to network! And you’re so good at it,” Kairi stopped in front of a looming apartment building made out of glass so shiny it almost hurt Sora’s eyes. To his chagrin she straightened the hem of his henley and the collar of his denim jacket.

 

“There is no way in hell they’re even going to let me in, Kairi.” The place was probably full of high end people who wore clothes that looked like they’d floated onto them and there’d be food nobody actually ate. He knew these people. He takes pictures of these people all the time nowadays.

 

Kairi looked slightly more upscale than he did, her dark red long sleeve dress and glittery pink flats just the ride side of fancy without looking like she tried very hard. Even the pink biker jacket she was wearing looked effortlessly chic. “They will, don’t worry.”

 

Sora closed his, took a deep breath and smiled at his best friend. “Fine. But if I get kicked out, I’m taking you down with me.”

 

—-

 

The 34th floor.

 

Who actually lived on the 34th floor? It wasn’t until Kairi mentioned it was the penthouse that Sora really balked. Whoever was hosting the party must be one of the bigwigs at the firm he never actually got to meet. He supposed they liked his pictures though, or they wouldn’t have printed them on their website and all their advertising.

 

“The guy hosting is nice, I met him once when I was having lunch with Namine.” The elevator dinged and the man pushing the buttons — good grief, this building had a doorman and someone to push the buttons in the elevator — informed them they were at the right floor.

 

The building was beyond swanky. It was hard lines, deep and dark colors trimmed with metal that was just shiny enough to look luxurious without looking tacky. Suddenly Sora felt the need to check if he had any stains on his shirt, or the ripped hole that his knee was poking out of was getting any worse. “Let’s hope he has a sense of humor.”

 

Kairi reached over and gave him a teasing pinch before she rang the doorbell.

 

Sora’s fight or flight instincts had kicked in so hard. It had been easier lately to get used to being in upscale places or around upscale people but he still felt out of his depth. He was definitely a people person, he made friends so easy, but it was difficult to keep up when the people he was talking to had lives he could barely imagine ever having.

 

The door opened and a man with the most obnoxious hair Sora had ever seen immediately pulled Kairi into a hug. “Ahhh Kai, I was almost afraid you weren’t gonna show up!” Kairi laughed and wriggled her way out of the hug.

 

“Lea, this is Sora,” She waved a hand at him to emphasise that he was indeed Sora. “I had a bit of a hard time trying to get him to come along.” Lea gave Sora an appraising look and then waggled his eyebrows at Kairi. Who immediately shot both hands up and shook her head vigorously.

 

“Oh, no, no, no! Sora and I are friends! Best friends!” She gave Sora’s arm a little tug to pull him towards Lea. Lea grinned and stuck his hand out. Sora took it lightly with a smile and was surprised how firm a grip a man that lithe had. “Hey, man.”

 

“Come on in!” He held the door open wider for them. “The chief’s around here somewhere, probably hiding in the kitchen.”

 

The apartment was, for lack of a better word, breathtaking. For starters, it was huge but it was filled so perfectly it still looked cozy. The entire apartment was ceiling to floor windows, the ceiling almost three times as high as Sora’s apartment. The furniture was all tasteful and the lighting was set to perfect golden tone that made it look like a home as much as a spread from a high end architectural magazine. Sora’s fingers itched to pull his camera out of his bag and start taking pictures. Even the people sitting on the couches and leaning against high tables and the bar — the kitchen had a bar, for heaven’s sake — looked like they matched the decor.

 

His henley and knee-hole were burning into his soul.

 

“Boss!” Lea called out to someone in the crowd, waving them over. Sora turned to Kairi while they waited and gave her a ‘this is really nice but I’m also super uncomfortable’ look. In return she gave him a beautiful smile and a small manicured hand wrapped around his bicep. Oddly enough, it did calm him down slightly.

 

Sora looked up from the floor just in time to see the person who Lea had called boss and who had just joined the three of them.

 

If the apartment was beautiful, and the people in the apartment were beautiful, then Sora was going to have a hard time thinking of a word to describe this man.

 

He was tall, but not quite as tall as Lea. His shoulders were broad enough, tucked into a white button up shirt that was probably tight when he put it on that morning but was now looser with wear. His legs were long and in slacks that probably had a matching jacket and cost more than Sora’s most expensive camera. Funnily enough, instead of a fancy leather shoe that Sora was expecting, he was wearing sneakers. Slightly scuffed white and yellow trimmed sneakers.

 

It wasn’t until they made eye contact and Sora had never seen anyone with eyes that color before, aquamarine like a postcard from a tropical island. His hair was short and silver and his jaw was at such a sharp angle Sora almost felt his head tilt.

 

For lack of any words Sora could think of, the most beautiful man he’d ever seen.

 

“Hey, Riku! Nice to see you again,” The silver haired man leaned forward to press a kiss to Kairi’s cheek and greeted her back with a large smile.

 

“Nice to see you again, Kairi.” His voice sounded like butter sliding off a knife. “Lea showed me your last shoot, you looked amazing.” Sora had shot those pictures, it had been practice for him and a welcome addition to Kairi’s portfolio.

 

Kairi gestured at Sora, like she had when she introduced him to Lea. “This is the photographer!” Their eyes met and Sora couldn’t help but smile. “He takes most of my pictures, he’s half the reason I get any work at all.” Before Sora could protest the outrageous lie that had come out of his best friend’s mouth Lea intervened.

 

“Yeah, chief, he also took the pictures for the site. And the new brochure.” Riku looked genuinely impressed. Sora was still mostly stuck on the fact that a man like Riku, who was probably near his age, could live in a place like this. However, his strong-willed mother had taught him some manners and he stuck his hand out.

 

“I’m Sora.” Riku took his hand in a firm grip and smiled at him, not breaking eye contact for a second.

 

“Riku. Your photographs are stunning.” Sora’s cheeks had the audacity to warm up on him. He could feel Kairi’s bemused and fond stare. “Would you like something to drink? I’ve got… pretty much everything?” Sora believed him in a heartbeat. One could hardly live in a place like this and have a narrow choice of beverages.

 

Kairi smiled at him, “I’ll have a… you know what, I’ll go with you!”

 

“I’m set, chief.” Lea raised the half drunken beer bottle in his hand in salute.

 

“Sora?” Riku asked and Sora noticed suddenly he hadn’t answered him. Kairi’s bemused and fond look hadn’t gone away just yet and Sora was doing his utmost to ignore it.

 

Sora grinned. “I’ll have a beer, thanks. Kairi knows what I like.”

 

There was no possible way he was going to get out of this evening with his dignity intact. Not with Riku looking like he just dropped out of a fashion magazine and his apartment looking like what comes after the pearly gates when you’ve died and gone to heaven.

 

“He’s cool,” Lea said to his right. “A little on the serious side, getting him to loosen up can be a chore. But he’s a genuinely good guy. Loyal to a fault once he trusts you.”

 

Sora grinned. “Sounds like quite a character reference. You trying to sell him off?”

 

“He’s my boss, I’m his assistant.” Lea took a sip of his beer. “It’s hard work but it pays well and like I said, he’s a good guy.” He gestured at Riku who was standing with Kairi in the kitchen, grinning at something she said. “And I know googly eyes when I see ‘em. You two both googly eyed out the minute your eyes met.”

 

“You’re crazy, I met him exactly six minutes ago.” Sora was the one who felt crazy.

 

“I’m not saying the two of you are in love already, man, but that was some pretty instantaneous chemistry. I get it, he’s hot and you’re adorable.”

 

Before Sora could respond in the bristly manner he was perfectly intending to do Riku and Kairi rejoined them, Riku handing him in a beer in a glass that felt expensive because it was so thin but looked hardy.

 

“Thanks,” Sora said and took a sip. “Good choice.” Beer wasn’t usually his drink of choice but Kairi knew what he liked and he wasn’t in the mood for sugary soda or anything harder than beer. And wine made him sleepy.

 

“What were you guys talking about?” Kairi asked, taking a sip of her white wine.

 

“Lea thinks I’m adorable.”

 

Riku’s eyebrows shot up a bit but he chuckled at Lea’s scandalised look regardless. “What would Isa say to that?” Both Sora and Kairi looked at Lea with a questioning gaze. Lea looked deeply unimpressed with Riku’s smirk.

 

“Who’s Isa?” Kairi asked.

 

“My boyfriend. Whom I love. Immensely.” His grimace suddenly turned into a smirk of his own. “Don’t make me embarrass you, chief.”

 

“So, uhm…!” Sora interrupted. “Riku, what do you do at your firm? Are you an architect?” Riku looked nonplussed at the interruption and ignored the boisterous laugh at broke out of Lea.

 

“Yeah, I am. I’m also a partner.” It honestly didn’t even sound like bragging, more like stating a simple fact. However, the taller man shifted the subject right back to Sora before he could even catch it. “What about you? Managed to get any more interesting jobs?”

 

A good forty-five minutes into conversation and Kairi and Lea had wandered off somewhere else, which suited Sora just fine. The awkward feeling of talking to a new person had disappeared completely and while he never had difficulty speaking to people, talking to Riku felt so natural he felt like he could do it for hours and not get bored.

 

“… so, I guess the big dream is to have my pictures hanging in a gallery, but,” Sora finished off his beer. It’s his second beer but the glasses are huge. He needs to stop before he crosses over from very slightly buzzed to loose lipped. “I doubt that’ll happen. But it’s nice to dream, right?”

 

“Well, I don’t know. Your photos are amazing.” Riku countered, swirling the soda in his glass around. “And I’m not just saying that because my company paid you a large amount of money to take them. I was one of the people who thought you should take the job. Your portfolio was incredible.”

 

Riku really needed to stop piling on the compliments. Not because they were making him feel bad, in fact, Sora felt pretty amazing and he knew he’d owe Kairi lunch or a drink for the very obvious set-up, but because he was making it far too easy to like Riku. And a guy like him was bound to have someone, even if a casual someone. Or someones. He may not have mentioned them yet, but he must.

 

“Thanks, I…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It was my first really big job, so it was a real experience. I’ve never been called by someone who called me to patch me through to the person who actually wanted to call me.”

 

Riku laughed out loud at that, throwing his head back. “Yeah, that’s company life, for you.”

 

“Think I’ll stick with taking pictures of your lobby.”

 

—-

 

“Sora?” A hand was very softly shaking him. “Sora?”

 

“Just give him a good shake! He could sleep through a hurricane.” That was a familiar voice. But whatever he was lying on didn’t feel familiar. One eye opened blearily and Riku stood crouched down in front of him. Apparently Riku in the morning was too much of a good thing and he startled awake.

 

“Oops, sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” Riku’s hand was still on his arm and it was warm and the grip was firm but Sora really wanted to go back to sleep. “Do you want some breakfast?”

 

Sora shook his head and slid back down. He was on the couch, but it was the biggest, fluffiest couch he’d ever slept on. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Kairi in a large gray shirt and black sweatpants (maybe Riku’s?) on the other end of the couch, happily munching on scrambled eggs. “Have some juice, Sora.” Kairi said, pointing her fork menacingly at him. “He’s awful, he won’t eat for three quarters of the day and then suddenly eat like he’s starving to death.”

 

Distantly, Sora heard Riku laugh and the clunk of a glass being set on the table. “Juice. No pulp.” Which sounded magical, even if Sora was already halfway asleep again. The couch moved when someone, most likely Riku sat down next to him. He leaned against Sora’s feet, tugging a bit of the blanket he was rolled up in to cover his own feet. “Lea’s still making eggs if you want some.”

 

“Nah.. s’okay…” Sora mumbled, halfway here and half way there.

“I’ll go help Lea clean up.” Kairi said, standing and taking her plate with her.

 

“You don’t have to…” Riku started.

 

“Oh, no, I don’t mind!” If Sora hadn’t been busy sitting up straight he might’ve noticed the pointed look Kairi gave Riku.

 

Sora leaned forward to get his glass of juice and sat back again, his legs crossing under the blankets. He leaned back against the couch and looked at Riku. Even just woken up he was so effortlessly handsome, his hair a little messy but he was all in black which made both his hair and his eyes illuminate in the morning light. His photographer’s fingers began to itch again. “Say, uh, Sora…” Riku began, leaning back against the back of the couch too. “I was wondering if you’d like to, I don’t know… get a drink sometime?”

 

He was asking Sora out. Before he’d even had his juice.

 

“In public that is.” And he was such a dork about it too. Sora couldn’t have stopped the huge smile on his face even if wanted to. “I mean, obviously…”

 

“Sure, I’d love that.” He could practically feel the smugness radiating out of the kitchen, from the two redheads undoubtedly listening in on them. “But make it a good drink, okay? I don’t want to sit in some dive bar where my shoes get stuck to the floor.”

 

“Yeah, I don’t go to a lot of dive bars nowadays.” Riku replied.

 

“Give me your phone, I’ll give you my number.” Riku reached over to the coffee table at his request, picked up his phone, unlocked it and handed it to Sora. “… there. Now, you can take me out for a drink and send me text messages. It’s happy multitasking.”

 

Riku took his phone back and immediately began typing away. Sure enough, Sora’s phone on the coffee table buzzed a few times.

 

“Don’t waste any time, huh?” His grin felt like it was stuck to his face. To think he’d almost tried to get out of this. He’d never had gotten a phone number and a date from quite likely the most beautiful man he’d ever met. He rummaged around under the blanket until he found Riku’s hand and twisted his pinky finger around Riku’s. The other man almost looked ready to apologise before Sora stopped him. “Good. I’m not a really patient person.”

 

The pinky finger squeeze he got was going to keep him happy for days to come. Or at least until he got that drink. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora and Riku have been dating for a little while and Riku starts dropping official titles. Sora deals with it well. Sort of.

 

Sora couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken up at six AM. He could remember the last time he’d been awake at six AM, but that was usually because he was inebriated and had the brilliant idea to stay out until the first trams started going. The soft jingling noise that continued to get louder as the seconds passed were interjected by a soft moan and the man next to Sora in bed sat up like his body was made of lead.

 

“I thought you said you had today off…” Sora mumbled, only his face peaking out from underneath the covers. The long line of Riku’s smooth back was almost tempting enough to slip a hand out from underneath the warmth he was wrapped but he refrained.

 

“Sorry, I got a message my boss wants me to come in for an early meeting that got planned last night.” Riku replied, his voice rough and gravelly with sleep. With a shake of his head he stood up and the bed instantly felt less warm and cozy. The idea that Riku made sure to check his work phone after he’d done unspeakable things to the unspeakable parts of Sora’s body was as adorable as it was slightly worrying.

 

Sometime, clearly after Sora had drifted off in an orgasm induced sleep, Riku had pulled on a pair of black pajama pants and they made his legs look so long. _I’m sleeping with this man on the regular,_ Sora thought to himself, _how did I even manage that?_

 

Riku walked around the bed in the direction of the ensuite bathroom, but stopped on the side Sora was half snoozing on to lean down and press a warm kiss on his cheek. “Go back to sleep, I’m gonna shower and get out of here. You can stay as long as you like, the door locks automatically on your way out.”

 

Six AM was a ridiculous time to be awake, let alone getting dressed and going out to be productive. Suddenly Sora felt bad for the man he’d been dating for the past three months. After so short a time one thing became glaringly obvious, Riku worked a lot. He was deeply devoted to his boss and spoke highly of both his job and his employer. So far, he hadn’t let it interfere in any dates they’d been on or time they spent together but sometimes it was a challenge to get some of Riku’s time for himself. Sora’s schedule was all over the place, sometimes he didn’t work for a week.

 

The door to the bathroom opened and after a few seconds he heard the shower turn on. Half of Sora’s brain whispered to him to stay right where he was like Riku had said, the other half was urging him to get up. With a groan, the latter won out and he pulled himself out of bed. The room wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t nearly as warm as it had been under Riku’s so-many-thousand count sheets and blankets and Sora had foregone putting anything on after Riku had pushed him into bed and divested him of everything he had been wearing last night.

 

Blearily he located his backpack and pulled out a clean pair of boxers and t-shirt. The shower was still running so he made his way out of the bedroom and through the apartment to the kitchen. After the three months he’d been coming home with Riku and spending the night he’d gotten used to how huge his apartment was, even if he had tended to get lost at first.

 

The kitchen was easily Sora’s favorite place in the house. The photographer in him was gleeful whenever he was there, the sharp lines and different textures. The way all the appliances and different materials caught the light. He ran his fingers over the spotless countertop. He’d been appalled when Riku told him that he barely used his kitchen because he was a) not a great cook and b) usually ate out or at the office and didn’t get home till late.

 

For some reason though, there was always food in the refrigerator, mainly fruit and vegetables and eggs, high protein and vitamin packed food. With a yawn, Sora pulled the refrigerator door open and pulled a tub of yoghurt, some blueberries and a banana out. After a minute of searching he located a box of oats, which looked like something Riku would eat. Another thing that he’d found out about Riku was that he was _healthy_. Ate incredibly responsibly, didn’t drink or smoke, worked out every other night. The first time they’d been naked together Sora had almost felt self conscious — which usually never happened — because he’d felt like a skinny teenager compared to the other man.

More looking around produced a bowl and a spoon and he pulled a small bottle of water out of the fridge. With slightly shaky, sleepy hands he poured the yoghurt in the bowl and added the fruit. Just as he perfecting it — aesthetics were important to him — he heard footsteps coming down the hall towards the kitchen.

 

“There you are, you didn’t have to get up.” Riku looked like he hadn’t just rolled out of bed fifteen minutes ago, he looked like he’d just spent an hour getting ready for a catwalk. The dark blue suit he was wearing was cut to make his shoulders look broader and his waist smaller and it was all Sora could do not to inform Riku he could tell his boss to shove it somewhere and drag him back to bed. “What’s this?”

 

“I made you breakfast.” Sora said, presenting him with the bowl and the water. “Don’t look at me like that,” Surprised teal eyes turned slightly amused. “It’s not like I’m the first person who’s ever made you breakfast at an ungodly hour.”

 

There was a shift in Riku’s gaze, just for a split second and Sora wondered if he’d messed up. But his smile creeped back up into his eyes and he sat down on one of the barstools across from Sora to eat what he’d been given. “You’re sweet.” He said around a mouthful of yoghurt. “Thank you.”

 

Sora shook his head quickly. “I-It’s fine! I was looking forward to spending the day with you, so I wanted to do this.” He immediately wished he could take that back. He didn’t want to make Riku feel guilty about having to go to work. Unfortunately Riku did pick up on it and his face fell just a little.

 

“I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” He said. “It was gonna be a surprise but I might as well say it… I got some tickets to this gallery show in uhm, I don’t know, downtown somewhere. An artist named Diz? Is that right? Tomorrow night.”

 

Sora gasped. “No way! I’ve been trying to get tickets to that show for weeks and…” He made a happy noise and leaned over to kiss the corner of Riku’s mouth. “That’s so amazing!” Riku immediately seemed to light up at Sora’s enthusiasm, which pleased him. Once the other man had finished his breakfast and taken a few drinks of water he took the empty bowl and the water bottle from him, setting them down on the counter by the sink to clean up later.

 

Riku stood and ran a hand over his mouth, in case any of his healthy breakfast had ended up there. Sora felt a little self conscious about standing there in his boxers and shirt and more messy than usual hair while Riku looked and smelled good enough to eat, but he still walked out from the kitchen to follow the other man to the front door.

 

“I’m gonna make good use of your ginormous bed, just so you know.” Sora said, running his hands down the front of Riku’s suit jacket to smooth it. Even though it really didn’t need smoothing. Riku leaned down and kissed him in a way that made Sora felt like there was more to come, if it wasn’t for the fact he was leaving. It almost made him want to pout. Almost.

 

“You should behave in my pristine bed.” Riku joked.

 

“After last night, I’m pretty sure pristine is not a word we should be using when it comes to your bed.” He took Riku’s fingers in his own, in a last ditch effort to magically persuade him to stay at home. Still Riku opened the front door with his free hand.

 

“I guess,” He gave Sora another kiss. “Boyfriends are the exception to the rule.” Sora hmm-ed as Riku pulled away. “I’ll call you.” And before Sora could properly open his eyes all the way the front door shut and he was alone in the huge apartment. In the silence of the room it only took a few minutes before Sora had realised what Riku had just called him.

 

—-

 

“Boyfriend?!” Kairi’s voice was just on the edge of screech and Sora reminded himself that he loved his best friend very, very much. “Sora, that’s fantastic!”

 

It _was_ fantastic. He told himself that when he had cleaned the dish he’d made Riku breakfast in, and when he showered, when he put on his clothes and brushed his teeth, when he made a half hearted attempt to make his bed, when he stopped halfway to the cafe he was meeting Kairi at to take a picture of a tree that had foliage the color of molten gold. But for some reason he’d been on edge since the minute the front door of Riku’s apartment shut behind him.

 

Several text messages from the man had gone unanswered and Sora was starting to feel guilty for ignoring him.

 

His coffee was getting cold. “I just…”

 

“Oh, no.” Kairi said, setting her tea cup down a little harder than necessary. “No, no, you do this every time… you really like him, right?”

 

Sora threw his hands up. “Of course I like him! I’ve spent the night at his place almost every night for the past three weeks. We started watching a show together. I made him breakfast this morning.”

 

“All of which sounds like boyfriend activities.” She replied in a slower than usual tone than implied she was frustrated with him. “Why wouldn’t you want…”

 

Sora cut her off, “Because the last time didn’t end very well, or did you forget about that?” The second the words left his mouth he immediately regretted, especially when Kairi’s face fell, her teacup half way to her mouth.

 

She set it down with reasonable force. “Yeah, believe it or not, I do, Sora. I was there the last time it didn’t end well.” Sora opened his mouth to apologise but she didn’t give him the leeway to do so. “I remember you not getting out of bed for a week, and not touching your camera for weeks and going white as a sheet whenever a guy so much as smiled at you.” Her eyes were shiny but she blinked hard.

 

“Kairi, I’m sorry.” He put his hand over hers and felt immense relief when Kairi flipped hers over and gripped back. “Really, I am. I’m an asshole. Nobody knows as well as you do how bad it was. Sometimes I just… he’s really too good to be true, and definitely too good for me, so I guess I’m kinda nervous he’s gonna realise that any day now.”

 

“He wouldn’t be calling you his boyfriend if he knew he was too good for you,” She picked her tea cup back up and took sip. “And he’s not. I think you should talk to him, he’s bound to have his own issues. And don’t call yourself an asshole, you know you’re not.”

 

Sora looked at their table, covered in a pretty white table cloth with little plates of cake and sandwiches on it. The china was pretty, delicate porcelain with a myriad of designs and colors, mismatching but perfect together regardless. Kairi always did pick the best spots to make him realise he was being silly. He ran a hand through his messy brown hair.

 

“You’re right. I’m terrified, though.” He said.

 

“That’s okay, it just means it really matters to you.” She gestured at the table with her tea cup. “We’re never gonna be able to finish this. Hey, why don’t you see if you can get this to go, you can surprise him for lunch. He does eat cake, right?”

 

To be honest Sora doubted it, but it did seem like a decent excuse to talk to him. He knew he may be intruding, showing up at Riku’s work without warning. He could be a friend, or an associate, or something. He’d think of something. Even if he was wearing jeans and a gray sweatshirt. Waiting until that evening seemed like too long.

 

—-

 

The waitress at the cafe had wrapped the two slices of cake and a sandwich they hadn’t been able to finish in a little brown box with actual twine string around it and Sora held it out in front of him so carefully it was like he was carrying a box of glass.

 

One tram ride and five minutes of doubtful dawdling outside the huge building that was Disney Architecture Sora entered the building and tried not to sweat too much.

 

The lady at the reception desk looked like she was made out of the porcelain the teacups at the cafe had and Sora almost wanted to reach out and touch her to see if she wasn’t a hologram. He’d been there twice before, to take the photographs, but at that point in time it had just been another big fancy building. He walked up to the reception and cleared his throat.

 

“Can I help you, sir?” Sir was definitely not something he was called often. He set the box down on the counter.

 

“Uh, yeah. I’m here to see someone.” He was doing well, in the speaking department and in the not sweating too much department.

 

“Yes, sir. May I ask who?” Her voice was icy cold but friendly at the same time.

 

Sora shuffled his feet and readjusted his backpack. “Yeah, uh, Riku? He’s an architect here.” His neck and cheeks flamed when the receptionist gave him a thorough _are you serious?_ look.

 

“Is he expecting you, sir?” Her hand drifted to her telephone, which either meant she was going to call up to his office or call security. Sora nodded and then shook his head violently.

 

“No, but I don’t think he’ll mind, you see I’m…”

 

She held up a finger that made Sora’s mouth snap shut. While she dialled Sora took a step back, trying to will his nerves to calm down. Her voice was even toned but she did look a little surprised before she hung up. After a few seconds she produced a card and held it out to him. “Here you are, sir. Forty-second floor, elevators are down the hall and on your right, hold the card up to the scanner so that his assistant can let you in.” She looked at him like she could barely believe it was even happening.

 

Sora took the card and smiled. “Thanks! I’ll uh… right, bye!”

 

—-

 

Forty-two floors and an elevator that went up so smoothly Sora felt like was flying a bit later, the doors opened to a familiar face.

 

“Hey, man!” Lea looked different than the last few times he’d seen him, black slacks and a white shirt, covered by a black vest and tie. “Come on in, the chief just got out of a meeting.”

 

Sora followed him in and swallowed at the sight of Riku’s office. There was a short hall leading up to it, and a desk outside of it, presumably Lea’s. The tall man gestured with a flourish to the door. “Go right on in, I already told him you were on your way.”

 

“You don’t think he minds, do you?” Sora couldn’t help but ask. Lea shook his head and grinned at him.

 

“Nah, I think I saw him smile at bit when I told him. And he is not a smiley person when he’s at the office.” It was funny to think of Riku as terribly stoic, he smiled more than enough when he was with Sora. The conclusion made him flush bit. Sora nodded at Lea in thanks and walked up to Riku’s office, giving it a slow push so he could peek inside before going in.

 

The room was huge, and in a half circular shape. The backside of the office was all windows, the carpet was dark teal, the furniture all dark colors trimmed with modern stainless steel finishing. It reminded Sora of his apartment, but without the slightly homier feel it had. He wondered if Riku had any hand in designing any of his own office.

 

Sitting at one seemed to be a large table was Riku, his back half to Sora, who was still standing in the doorway. Without warning he was given a little push from behind so he was all the way inside. Before he could protest, the office door was shut and it drew Riku’s attention.

 

“I didn’t know you wore glasses!” Was the first thing out of Sora’s mouth when the other man turned towards him. As if he couldn’t possibly look any better, with his shirt sleeves rolled up and a sliver of bare ankle peeking out from underneath his slacks, Riku was wearing a pair of thick rimmed glasses, slightly sliding down the bridge of his nose.

 

Riku laughed and slid off the stool in front of his table. Sora’s face warmed as he crossed the room towards him and he couldn’t help but be drawn towards him. “Just when I’m drawing, keeps my eyes from getting tired. I get headaches pretty quick if I concentrate too hard.” His eyes noticed the box in Sora’s hand. “What’s that?”

 

Sora looked down at it, “Oh! Uh, I had lunch with Kairi. Or brunch. She calls it brunch, I call it early lunch with cake. We couldn’t finish it all, so I decided to find out if you’d help me finish it off.” Riku’s hands were warm right through the sleeves of his sweatshirt when he gripped Sora and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. Sora mmm-ed and said, “Hi.” His insides got a little funny and his nerves felt more and more like bees than the wasps they had been before.

 

“Hi.” Riku’s smile was a little tired, but he looked genuinely pleased to see Sora. “You came all the way down here just to bring me cake?” He led Sora over to his desk. He walked behind it and sat down in the big black leather chair, opened a drawer and rummaged around in it.

 

Sora looked at the two big black chairs in front of the desk and grinned. “Which one should I sit in?”

 

The look on Riku’s face made Sora’s knees weak when he leaned back and gestured nonchalantly at both. “By all means, pick a chair.”

 

Sora sat down in the left one and placed the box on Riku’s desk. “There you go. I told Kairi you probably don’t eat cake, but it was so good. I really like cake, so I wanted to share it with you.” He smiled as he watched Riku pull the box towards him and flip the lid off, revealing the two aesthetically pleasing pieces of cake. Riku, who had pulled a fancy looking fork from somewhere in his desk, dug into one piece and put the bite in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

 

“You’re right, I don’t usually eat cake. This is so sweet, how do you even manage to eat a whole slice of this…”

 

“I need to tell you something.” Sora interrupted him and Riku looked apprehensive, fork in the air the same way Kairi’s tea cup had suspended in the air when Sora had mouthed off at her. His tone must have been sharper than he intended, but the bees in his stomach were starting to feel like wasps again. “This morning,” Riku put his fork down. “You called me your boyfriend.”

 

Riku nodded and didn’t break eye contact. Sora continued, “And it kinda freaked me out. Not because I don’t want to be your boyfriend. I do!” It felt nice to see Riku looked slightly relieved. “I just… I can’t believe I’m telling you this after three months, but I think I need to.”

 

“Sora, if you’re not comfortable with telling me…” Riku began, but Sora waved him off.

 

“The last time I was someone’s boyfriend, I had been for about a year. He uh, dumped me.” Sora sighed, “Which in itself isn’t really a bad thing, I mean it happens. But he dumped me over something I thought wouldn’t matter.” His chest was hot and there was a knot in his stomach. What if Riku didn’t want a boyfriend with issues? “And he wasn’t kind about it. Anyway, ever since then I’ve been a little wary of dating… especially being someone’s boyfriend. So when you called me that his morning I kinda panicked.”

 

Riku looked at him like he was a puzzle he needed to figure out. “And how do you feel now? Because if you’re not ready, I can hold back… I don’t want to rush…”

 

Again Sora waved him off. “No! That’s the thing… Kairi snapped me out of it at lunch, and she told me to tell you. And to be honest, and I’m not gonna tell her that, I was really dreading it but it feels good to tell you. And I really would like to be your boyfriend. If you still want to be.”

 

Out of the calm exterior of Riku’s face and body language his teal eyes warmed and he smiled for a bit before sitting up straight in his chair. “Before I came to work here I worked at another firm, right out of university. I had interned there during university and one of the head honchos really took a shine to me. Made me his protege. I was… well, I guess arrogant and prideful would be the right words for it.” It was difficult for Sora to imagine Riku like that, stern faced and serious as he could be. “Once I graduated he gave me a job there, and let’s just say… I made lots of bad choices. The kind of bad choices people with too much money and power can make.”

 

Kairi had been right, once Sora had opened up Riku had met him halfway.

 

“Slept around, drank too much, had a hard time figuring out whether it was Sunday or Wednesday because I’d wake up in someone else’s bed with no memory of the night before.” If imagining Riku as arrogant was hard to place for Sora, imagining him being an arrogant partying playboy was even harder. The man was so disciplined about his life. “I met Mickey in a hotel lobby one day. I looked like shit, but he recognised me from the press. Said I was the most brilliant young architect he’d met in years.” That made Sora light up, because it felt like Riku’s story was taking a turn for the better. “He told me whatever my boss was paying me, he’d pay me double. On the condition that I get clean and acted like a responsible adult.”

 

In some way Sora felt like Riku being so vulnerable only made him even more attractive and somewhat softer. “I guess you did, huh.” Sora smiled at him.

 

“Yeah. Checked myself into rehab for eight weeks. Haven’t done drugs or had any alcohol in four years.” Sora wanted to run around the desk and hug him. “That’s why I don’t drink. And why I’m so uptight about my diet… I have an addict’s personality, according to the therapists at rehab, so I try to focus my addictions on things that are good for me. As for sleeping around… went pretty cold turkey with that too. I dated occasionally, but never anything serious. Until a couple months ago this really cute guy walked into my apartment.”

 

Him, he was the cute guy. He was Riku’s cute guy. Sora stood and walked around the desk, not breaking eye contact with him. Without asking he sat himself down in Riku’s lap, who let him and wrapped his arms around him like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Thank you for telling me.” Riku’s smile was just a tiny bit watery when Sora leaned down to kiss him, his lips opening up to him as easily as his arms had wound around him. The kiss was deep and hot and he wanted to sink into Riku’s arms until there was no space left between them, not even a bit.

 

The way Riku suddenly lifted Sora up out of his lap and onto the desk made him feel so hot and giddy he couldn’t help but laugh and put his arms around the other man’s neck. They kissed again, clearly going somewhere that wasn’t technically appropriate to do in an office. Riku broke the kiss. “Thank you for telling me. I promise you can always tell me what’s on your mind, I’d never hold anything against you.”

 

As Sora let himself be pushed back onto the smooth hard wood of Riku’s desk, the warm weight of his body on Sora’s, he closed his eyes, let himself be kissed and hoped he could believe that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter, Sora's extracurricular career is introduced. Also going to be getting into Lea and Isa's relationship more, which I have come to absolutely love since KH3. 
> 
> I love to chat about KH and Soriku, so if you want you can look me up on Twitter at @laughertea. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isa comes home to his boyfriend after ten days of being away. 
> 
>  
> 
> This chapter raised the rating of the story.  
> Mind the end notes, they contain spoilers for KH3.

 

 

“Ah, right where I left you.” The words followed the opening of a door.

 

Lea looked behind him from his spot on the sofa, game controller in his hand. In the doorway stood Isa, the handle of his rolling suitcase in one hand, the doorknob in the other as he closed it. “How are you here? Your flight wasn’t supposed to come in ’til tomorrow morning!” Lea jumped up off the couch and crossed the room to where his boyfriend stood.

 

“Hmm, I managed to switch my flight tomorrow to this evening.” Isa replied, letting Lea take his suitcase from him. The redhead leaned that little bit down and kissed him, letting it linger for just a little bit longer than usual. It had been two weeks since Isa had been home, it called for a little upgrade on the hello kiss.

 

“Color me surprised. And kind of pleased considering you’re home now and I took the day off tomorrow.” Lea decided to take the momentum from their kiss to pull Isa close to him into a tight hug. The man smelled a little like the six hour flight he’d taken but still wonderfully like himself, his cologne just barely there. “How was the conference?”

 

Isa stepped away from the hug, his hands running down Lea’s narrow waist. “One moment, let me take my coat off.” As he did so, Lea disappeared into their kitchen, calling out if he wanted something to drink. “Some water, please.” He walked into their living room and sat down on the coach, one leg crossing over the other out of reflex. His eyes felt heavy and he was sure if he let his head fall back and shut his eyes he’d be asleep in a minute.

 

A thunk pulled him out of his doze, and a slight but tall warm body sat down next to him, fitting perfectly into his side. “One tall glass of water from your tall glass of water.” Lea said, grinning and already nosing the skin of his throat.

 

“You’re terrible. And thank you.” Isa replied. He turned the tables on his boyfriend and rolled into his side, so that Lea was sitting with his back straight and Isa was half folded over the side of his body. “The conference was interesting. Some very new interesting theories about astrophysics, I won’t bore you with the details… it was nice to be around so many like minded individuals.”

 

Lea laughed and put both arms around him. “You mean serious and stuffy?” He didn’t see Isa roll his eyes, but he knew he did.

 

“Yes. Quiet and introspective and rather boring on occasion to be honest.” Isa said, tilting his head up to meet Lea’s green gaze. “I missed your energy. You make any room you’re in feel just a little bit more lively. I kept waiting for something unexpected to happen, or for someone to tell an inappropriate joke or witty comment, but it was all rather terribly sedate.”

 

“Baby, I missed you too.” Lea said and gave him a languid kiss that had both of them coming together, their chests and hips aligned. It was the sort of kiss they shared when either one of them was in the mood, but Lea found it hard to believe Isa was in the mood when he looked so tired. “You up for anything or you wanna go to bed?” Lea was up for something, but he’d been up for something for the past week and a half. Going from sex being a nearly daily occurrence to nothing at all for almost a week and a half had been something to get used to.

 

Isa ran his fingers through Lea’s bright red hair and sighed. “I do want you so much, I’ve been wanting you for days but… I’m afraid I might fall asleep, which is not something I’m aiming for.” Without further explanation needed he let himself be pulled up from the couch and led to their bedroom. The exhaustion had been creeping on him on the ride home, but now that he was within range of his bed it hit him full force.

 

The sensation of Lea’s deft hands ridding him of his clothes until he was in nothing but his boxers felt far away. He shook his head decisively when Lea asked him if he wanted pajamas and crawled into the familiar warmth of their bed. The dark blue sheets were cool against his skin but it felt comforting to be in his own space, the combined smell of his boyfriend and himself lulling him even further into sleep.

He only heard a quiet goodnight from Lea and a warm kiss in his blue hair before drifting off completely.

 

—-

 

The sun was barely rising when Isa awoke the next morning. Lea had foregone closing the curtains and muted light colored their white walls golden pink. An internal struggle between getting up for a shower and going back to sleep waged for a few moments before Isa hauled himself out of bed. Next to him, Lea was fast asleep, sheets pooled around his waist, his torso bare. The contract of his bright hair and pale skin made Isa’s fingers itch to touch him.

 

A look at his phone told him that it was nearly nine AM, and he’d received a few messages asking him how the conference was. As a professor of astrophysics he worked at the uptown university. He’d only been a professor for two years, so his older colleagues liked to send him to the longer conferences, stating they no longer had the patience. Isa was eager enough, even if ten days away was a bit much. Usually the conferences weren’t that long, but it had been a combined conference of various scientific fields that was only held once every few years.

 

He padded out of their bedroom and down the hall to the bathroom. Last year they had bought the apartment together, despite having never lived together before. Two years of their relationship Isa had still been in grad school, and Lea had been working his way through the corporate world until he landed a position as an assistant in a large architectural firm. Their combined salaries made it possible to buy a spacious apartment, near the university and only a twenty minute tram ride away to Lea’s job.

 

Once he was in the bathroom, Isa sleepily removed his boxers and turned the shower on. He’d secretly hoped Lea would be awake so they could shower together, but the other man had probably gone to bed much later than he had. The water in the shower was the perfect setting of warmth, and his muscles instantly began to relax when he stepped under the spray.

 

After a good ten minutes of just enjoying the hot water, Isa cleaned himself and stepped out of the shower. His long hair was heavy with water and he squeezed most of it out with a towel before drying himself and wrapping himself up in the terrycloth rob hanging from the hook on the door. On occasion he considered cutting his hair off, but every time Lea had looked as though he was planning to cut one of his arms off, so each attempt at seriously considering a haircut was thwarted. Especially when Lea would run his fingers through the long blue strands and murmured silly things about how pretty it was.

 

If getting up and taking a shower didn’t wake Lea up, the hair dryer certainly would. Isa was under no circumstances planning to get back in bed with wet hair. Once his hair was dry and smooth from a proper brushing he left the bathroom, leaving the door open and returned to their bedroom. As expected, Lea was awake and lazily scrolling through his mobile phone.

 

“There you are,” He said as Isa made his way back to bed. “Feeling better than last night?” His mobile phone was set to the side when Isa got onto the bed on both knees, legs folded underneath him. His robe fell slightly more loose when he leaned over to kiss his boyfriend good morning.

 

“Yes, thank you. It was nice to sleep in my own bed.” He said, his lips lingering near Lea’s. “I never know what the fuss is about with hotel beds. They’re either too hard or too soft.”

 

“And ours is _just_ right.” Lea said with a teasing lilt and a grin.

 

“Yes, actually. I suppose the company is passable as well.” Isa felt fingers creeping up from underneath the covers and to the belt of his robe, the knot loosening easily until it was pushed to the side, like Lea was unwrapping a present.

 

The sight of his boyfriend naked, skin flushed from his shower pulled Lea into a more active attitude and he sat up on his knees, leaning Isa back across the mattress until he was flat on his back and his robe was halfway off the bed and halfway on the floor, but all the way off his body. “I missed you, _this_ … ten days is too long without you.” His lips pressed kisses into the skin of Isa’s throat while his hand reached down between them.

 

Isa laughed sardonically but the laugh ended in a moan at Lea’s firm grip on him. “You’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself,” He ran his hands through thick red hair and down the smooth skin of his back, chasing his lips for a proper kiss. Sex between them was always electric but after so many days of no contact it was like they’d hit the ground running and their bodies felt sweltering pressed together. “Ahh, I missed those hands.”

 

“Mmm, baby, I wanna fuck you…” Lea scooted himself between Isa’s thighs, his hands running burning trails up and down his legs as he pulled the other into a position they both loved. Isa nodded, a little breathless. For a little while Lea took his time preparing him, waving off Isa’s urgency when he asked him to ‘get on with it’. “I’ve got the whole day off and I haven’t been with you for more than a week, let me take my time making you feel good.”

 

The desire to hurry up melted in the face of his usually sharp tongued boyfriend’s tender words and Isa laid back, his head flat on the mattress, his hair everywhere and all of his senses heightened. The first push inside made him gasp and he reached both arms behind him to grip the edge of the mattress. He had never been loud in bed, and that morning was no exception but he couldn’t help his mouth falling open and every so often gasped his lover’s name. He laughed low and soft when Lea leaned down to press their bodies together and bury his face in Isa’s neck, the rhythm of their bodies rocking together slow but intense.

 

“You close?” Lea asked, voice becoming desperate as his hips sped up the rhythm of his thrusts. “Baby, you feel close…” There was so much wonderful tension in Isa’s body, but just not enough to get him there without something extra. He let one hand go of the mattress and took one of Lea’s hands, guiding it down between the tight fit of their bodies sliding together. Lea immediately took him in a firm grip and the simmering tension in Isa’s body began to escalate so fast his eyes screwed shut and a strangled noise burst out of him.

 

Just moments later his body went taut and his back arched, wet heat between them, his heart going a mile a minute. “Lea…” He mumbled, running lethargic fingers through his lovely red hair as the other sat on both knees to really put his back into it, both eyes screwed shut. “Come on…” Seemed to be the magic words to come from Isa as he came hard, hips erratic against Isa a few more times before he stilled and took a great gasp of breath.

 

“Guess I’ll have to take another shower.” He said, gathering Lea up in his arms after the other had leaned across the bed to dispose of the condom and grab something to attempt to clean up after themselves.

 

“Like you didn’t come in here fully intending to have your way with me.” Lea said, his grin bright as he lay next to Isa, their bodies still flushed and hot in the afterglow.

 

“I’m pretty sure you just had your way with me.” Isa toyed with the spiky edges of his boyfriend’s hair.

 

“Right, you coming in here with your robe hanging half open, smelling clean and sexy… being coy is certainly a look on you.” Lea leaned over and ended his sentence with a kiss that made Isa’s toes curl. “I’m glad I took the day off, that performance definitely needs a couple of sequels.”

 

“Won’t Riku miss you terribly today?” Isa liked his boyfriend’s boss well enough, even if it was hard to imagine someone so young being in such a high place in corporate life already. But Lea did speak highly of him, and the times he’d met him the man had been perfectly cordial and dare he say it, nice.

 

“Nah, he can manage for a day.” Lea shuffled about until he could pull the covers over them, both their heads still on the end of the mattress. Their feet were propped up on their pillows and both of them grinned at the silly sight. “Besides, he’s been on cloud nine for the past couple of weeks. I doubt he even notices I’m gone.”

 

Isa stretched and then rolled halfway so he could lie against Lea’s side and rest his head on the other man’s chest. “Ah yes, the new boyfriend. That’s still a thing? You mentioned it’s the first time since you’ve met him that he’s been in a long term relationship.” Which felt odd saying, three months was not long term compared to the four years he and Lea had been together. But he supposed for someone who could barely get past a first date with someone, it was impressive.

 

“Yeah, they’re pretty over the moon for each other. He even came to see him at his office last week. He made me cancel one of his meetings and actually had the audacity to claim it wasn’t because he wanted to fuck him on that couple thousand munny designer desk.”

 

“You’re a very devoted assistant, I’m sure he appreciates you greatly.” Isa replied.

 

Lea sat up suddenly and reach across the bed for his mobile phone on the nightstand. Before Isa could even protest being jostled aside a screen was shoved in his face. “This is him,” A kind looking young man with unruly chestnut hair and big blue eyes looked at him from Lea’s screen. Why on earth he was being showed this picture was beyond Isa. “You tell me… but doesn’t he look familiar? Ever since the first time I met him, at that party a couple months ago, he just seemed so familiar. Can’t put my finger on it.”

 

Isa took the phone from Lea and stared at the picture for a while. After wracking his brain he nearly handed the phone back to a half dozing Lea until it suddenly dawned on him. “I know.” Isa sat up and dropped Lea’s phone on his stomach, ignoring the tiny bit of outrage from his boyfriend. He grabbed his own phone and opened up an application, scrolling through it. “Where is it… ah!” He turned and shoved his phone in Lea’s face, just as the other had done before to him. “Does _she_ look familiar?”

 

On the screen was a face that indeed looked familiar, oval shaped, pretty but not in an obvious way. Lea took the phone and began scrolling through the other pictures. The pictures were usually with a different style of hair, clearly wigs, ranging from blonde to auburn to black. Lea wasn’t born yesterday, he knew a drag queen when he saw one, as toned down as this one was. But two things stood out from every photograph he scrolled past. The person who was taking these photos absolutely knew their way around a camera and he’d recognise those big blue eyes anywhere. They were the same blue eyes that he’d seen just last week, creeping out of Riku’s office like he hadn’t just gotten up to no good with his boss in there, apologising meekly but still looking just slightly smug.

 

And at the top of his, or rather _her_ , profile clear as day… Sora. Like he was hiding in plain sight.

 

“Holy _shit_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much as I deeply disliked the final part of KH3, not just for shipping reasons but for a multitude of reasons, one thing I found incredibly redeeming was how much Isa/Saix and Lea/Axel were portrayed. Soriku is obviously my live and breathe for KH OTP but these two gotten written really, really well. Thank heavens for small mercies. It is my first time writing them so I need to get the hang of them. Hope it doesn't disappoint. 
> 
> Hence why there is only a mention of Soriku in this chapter, but I will be getting back to that in the next. I'm never sure how to rate a fic until I'm actually writing one and even in this one I wasn't sure, considering it wasn't exactly graphic. But still to err on the side of caution, I upped the rating. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, if you wanna hang out, you can find me on Twitter at @laughertea.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's taken almost three quarters of a year of dating, but Riku is finally invited to Sora's apartment to spend the night. Nothing is revealed but not everything is quite as secret as Sora hoped it was.

There was nothing Sora hated more than running in heels. He could walk in them, stand on them for hours, dance in them but running in them irritated him so much. Unfortunately, tonight wasn’t the kind of night he could afford not running in his heels. The other performers at the club had wolf whistled and called after him when he split, after telling them he was rushing home because his boyfriend was coming by.

 

What they obviously didn’t know, was that he was rushing because he wanted to be back at his apartment a while before said boyfriend came by so he could untuck and shower and pretend like he hadn’t spent the last three hours being the ‘cutest girl at the club’ as they liked to call him when he was in drag and on stage.

 

Despite numerous attempts from both his friends and family to get him to tell Riku that he did drag he hadn’t found the courage yet. So far, their relationship had been getting stronger with every passing day but a deep fear in Sora still kept him from telling him. How Riku hadn’t accidentally found out yet was beyond Sora, especially since he’d been having a feeling lately that Lea knew, if his looks were anything to go on.

 

Sora had spent the past day making sure his apartment looked completely ordinary, not a stocking or hairpiece in sight. His apartment had a small walk-in he kept both his photography equipment and his drag in and luckily, could be locked. That was what he was going to tell Riku, the door is locked because it’s just boring but expensive camera equipment and wasn’t the bed with Sora in it much more appealing?

 

Twenty-five minutes and one sprint from the tram to his apartment later Sora was home and halfway out of drag before he even made it to the bathroom. The feeling of untucking was both heaven and made him feel sore, but he’d foregone a terribly tight tuck after he decided to wear a dress with a frilly skirt. Once his wig was off he stepped under the shower and turned it as hot as he could stand. It was nine forty-five and Riku was supposed to be there at ten thirty, so he had enough time to scrape his face clean and clean his mess in the hall way up.

 

By the time he was done with scrubbing his face and body clean he was cutting it pretty close — he always underestimated how long it took to get that much makeup off — so he pulled a pair of boxers and sweatpants and a well worn sweatshirt on. When Sora looked in the mirror his face had a glowing blush on it from scrubbing so hard, but otherwise he looked like he always did. He picked up the dress, his wig — that was the one thing he’d set carefully down, those were so expensive — his stockings and underthings and stored them in his closet. He’d hang the clothes up later but he put the wig back neatly on a wig stand. Just as he was straightening it out, the doorbell rang and he jumped.

 

With panicky fingers Sora stepped out of his walk in, locked it quickly and shoved the key to the back of the drawer of his nightstand. He took a deep breath. “Calm down already, jeez…” He muttered to himself and hurried to the front door.

 

The doorbell rang again and he pressed the button to buzz Riku up. He pulled the front door open and stuck his head around the corner to see Riku coming up the stairs. Luckily, he lived on the first floor. “Sorry!” Sora said with a bright smile. “I just got out of the shower.”

 

Riku didn’t look at all bothered, just handsome and tired — which was how he usually looked — in his all black ensemble, jeans, sweatshirt and leather jacket. Only his sneakers were white, which contrasted nicely with his bright hair. “I figured it was that, or you’d fallen asleep.” He met Sora at the door and kissed him hello. “Hi, baby.”

 

“Hi,” Sora returned, feeling a little shy. “Like I could sleep knowing a specimen like you was on his way.” His heart rate was up but he took Riku’s hand anyway and pulled him inside. “I know you’ve got a nice little apartment, but I’m warning you… this is gonna blow your mind, here gimme…” As Sora was talking Riku had shut the door behind him and was talking off his jacket. Sora took it and hung it on one of the hooks on the back of the front door.

 

His apartment was in Midtown, so it was galaxies apart of how fancy Riku was, who lived in Uptown. But the building was nice and the neighbourhood was safe so Sora really couldn’t complain. The apartment itself was tiny, but he was barely ever home anyway. “Behold the hallway, at the end of it is the kitchen,” He led Riku to the kitchen, who was looking at him fondly. Sora pointed the side to the still steamy bathroom. “Bathroom… it has a shower and everything.”

 

“Seems a little audacious, don’t you think?” Riku said, wrapping his arms around Sora’s shoulders from behind.

 

“Yeah well, I like my luxuries, what can I say?” Riku’s apartment had three bathrooms, one of which Sora hadn’t even used. He turned them about, Riku still pressed up against his back and gave a wave to the largest room in the apartment. His bed was simple but he’d splurged on the mattress — he liked sleep and sex, and both of those were done best on a good mattress — and covered it in heaps of blankets and pillows, the covers all mismatched. There was a long drawer chest by the large window that overlooked the street that he kept all his boy clothes in and he’d put some plants on it to give the room a little life. He’d hung a few of his photographs on the walls in black sleek frames.

 

“What’s in there?” Riku pointed the closed walk-in and Sora’s heart nearly stopped. He hoped Riku didn’t feel how sweaty his palms had gotten, gripping the two arms around his shoulder.

 

“Uh, my photography stuff! It’s such a mess, I decided to spare you the horrible truth.” Sora craned his neck so he could make eye contact with the other man.

 

“Oh, which is?” Riku asked.

 

“That your boyfriend’s the messiest person ever.” Sora replied.

 

“That’s not true,” Riku said with a laugh, keeping Sora in the circle of his arms when he turned around so there were face to face. “You’re very neat whenever you stay over.”

 

“Because I don’t want to make a mess of your insanely nice apartment.” Sora explained and Riku for some reason frowned a little. “What?”

 

The taller man tucked some of Sora’s still damp hair behind his ear. “You don’t have to, you know, I want you to be yourself when you’re at my place.” Lately Riku had been hinting at the idea that maybe they could start thinking about living together. They’d been through everything else, saying I love you, introducing each other to one another’s parents — and in Sora’s case, his brothers as well — going as each other’s plus one to weddings and parties and such. What came after that suddenly felt much more serious. It wasn’t that Sora didn’t want to live with Riku, he absolutely did, but he knew he never could if he didn’t tell him that besides being a free lance photographer he was also a performing drag queen.

 

“Okay. The next time I stay at your place I’m trashing the joint.” Sora replied, wrapping his arms around Riku’s waist and gave him a kiss as the other laughed. The kiss broke and Riku was still grinning. “You want something? Drink or food or I don’t know… here, you sit on the bed. I don’t have a living room by the way. In case you weren’t impressed enough by this place.”

 

“I’m fine,” Riku said as he was manoeuvred onto the edge of Sora’s bed. “And stop it. I love your apartment. It reminds me of you.”

 

“Cramped and messy?”

 

“Small and warm and yeah, maybe a little messy. Full of personality and unique.” Riku’s smile was tired but Sora’s cheeks warmed anyway, because he looked so earnest with his compliment. Sora stood before Riku and took one hand in his own, the other hand cupping Riku’s cheek.

 

“You looked exhausted, did something happen at work today?” Sora asked and immediately Riku sighed, like he was hoping Sora wouldn’t notice.

 

“We had a meeting with another firm, talks about a joint venture that would be absolutely huge for us, but,” Riku stopped and leaned his head a little into Sora’s warm palm. “It’s the firm I worked at before I started working for Mickey.” Sora had met Riku’s boss once, a short man with a cheerful disposition with apparently a ruthless underlying determination that Riku always spoke of with admiration. “One of the partners there was the man I told you about, who took me under his wing. Pushed me in the direction of some very bad life choices.”

 

“Ansem, right?” Sora asked and Riku nodded.

 

“Mickey told me he’d be at the meeting but I spent the whole dreading it, he told me I could opt out but it’s already a challenge to make sure the other partners keep taking me seriously. I didn’t want to give them a reason to think I can’t handle the huge projects.” Riku gave him a wan smile when Sora let go of his hand and cupped the other half of his face. “He just kept eyeing me, it was so unsettling…”

 

Sora sat himself down in Riku’s lap, his arms curling around his shoulders. Riku’s arms automatically anchored themselves on Sora’s waist. “Fuck that creep,” Sora said, followed by a lingering kiss that Riku responded to with gusto. Sora broke the kiss but his lips hovered over Riku’s. “It’s just you and me, now. No more stuffy partners or creepy ex bosses or long, drawn out meetings, just you and me,” He unwrapped his arms from around Riku’s neck and took the hands on his waist in his own to guide them up and under his sweatshirt. “And way too many clothes. You gonna do something about that?” He leaned over to kiss the soft skin behind Riku’s ear with his lips and his tongue, relishing in the shiver that he felt go through the taller man’s body. 

 

Riku’s hands were warm and strong and immediately went into action, pulling the sweatshirt up and over his head. “Fuck, you’re so sexy…” He mumbled before wrapping his arms around Sora’s hips and flipping him so he was flat on the bed. As he started to crawl over his body, Sora began to move himself up so their legs weren’t hanging off the edge of the bed, it almost felt like a chase and they both grinned at each other.

 

“Come and get it.” Sora said, his voice husky and his blue eyes so dark they almost looked purple. The sweatpants he had on did nothing to hide how turned on he was and when Riku leaned down between his thighs to pull them off it was all he could do not to cry out a little, he was still so sensitive. Riku pulled the sweats off but stopped for a moment.

 

“Did I hurt you?” Sora shook his head and burrowed himself deeper into the pillows.

 

“You’re just really hot.” He tried, hoping it hadn’t really seemed as if Riku had hurt him. “Wouldn’t you get a little loud if your boyfriend was as hot as mine and just about to suck your dick?”

 

The smirk on Riku’s face was hot enough to melt butter and Sora knew he was going to barely last a minute when he felt his boyfriend’s lips touch the head of his dick. His toes curled and his hands gripped the headboard of the bed as Riku did his utmost to make him come faster than he had in ages, the sensation of his hot mouth on his sensitive dick so intense it made his eyes tear. In a half hearted attempt to warn Riku of his impending orgasm, he curled one hand in his silver hair and moaned out, “I’m coming, I’m coming, Riku…” and his body curled together like an iron spring.

 

The fact that Riku had apparently held him in his mouth while he came made his hips twitch a few more times. “That was…”

 

“Short?” Riku supplied, shimmying out of his own jeans, his sweatshirt already somewhere on the floor. “Don’t think you lasted more than a minute or two.” Sora’s face was burning but Riku looked pleased enough as he crawled up so that he could lay his body flat against Sora’s, his own hard dick buried in the dip of Sora’s thigh. “You that hot for me?” Sora almost wanted to smack him for looking so smug.

 

“It’s that stupid leather jacket, you know what that does to me.” He gave Riku a half hearted attempt at a slap on the arm, but lifted his knees anyway so that he fit nicely between his thighs.

 

“Figures a nice looking boy like you would be hot for a bad boy.” It was only half true, considering it may be a bad boy look that Riku pulled off perfectly, but he was anything but a bad boy.

 

Sora leaned back and began rocking his hips so he could see how Riku’s face flushed. “So is this bad boy gonna fuck me anytime soon, or is he waiting for an invitation?”

 

His heart stopped for a few seconds when Riku reached over the pull the drawer of his nightstand open for lube, thinking of that little key he’d thrown in there. “Sure you can handle it,” Riku asked, shutting the drawer and sitting back on his heels with Sora’s legs still around his hips. “You still seem a little out of breath.”

 

The wet press of his fingers inside him felt amazing, even if he still felt a little oversensitive. “You’re so sensitive today, almost feels like our first time.” Their first time had been memorable, Sora had spent most of the time wondering why someone who looked like Riku wanted to have sex with him, nervous and jittery. “Tell me when you’re ready?” Riku always asked him that, his fingers slow and patient.

 

“Kiss me,” Sora asked and Riku complied immediately, leaning forward to kiss him. In between the hot exchange of their mouths he mumbled, “I’m ready, I’m ready…” And even though they’d slept together so, so many times the pressure and heat of Riku pushing his dick inside him made him go completely crazy. He lifted his knees so they were nearly touching his chest, so Riku could lean forward and find a comfortable spot. Once he did Sora felt his large hands slide down the back of Sora’s thighs so he could hold him by the back of his knees. With the proper position and the extra leverage Riku began to fuck him in earnest.

 

His face, usually quite stoic, was contorted in pleasure. His teal eyes were darker, the long sweep of dark gray lashes making them seem even more sultry, his cheeks flushed dark red from exertion and arousal. Sora loved him so, so much. He couldn’t imagine ever being made love to by anyone else but this man.

 

Sora’s dick came back to attention after a minute or so, though he wasn’t quite as hard as he had been the first round. The angle Riku was fucking him in felt amazing, but not enough to really push him far enough so he reached down and took himself in hand.

 

“Let me…” Riku said, already letting go of one leg.

 

“Nuh-uh,” Sora said, shaking his head. “I got it, you keep doing that, you’re so good at that,” His tone of voice seemed to spur Riku on and his thrusts got deeper and quicker. “Ah, Riku!” He managed and curled one hand in damp with sweat silver hair, his fingernails grazing over his scalp. He felt another orgasm simmering in his lower body and he pulled Riku’s head towards him so he could mumble encouraging words into his ear, the heavy breathing and moaning coming from his boyfriend so hot his toes curled a little. By now he knew when Riku was close, his pace became more and more frantic, his shoulders a little shaky with excitement.

 

Sora diverted his face so they were eye tot eye, Riku’s eyes nearly black with arousal, his lips red and shiny. “Hey, look at me…” Riku opened his eyes a little more, his pace stuttering just a bit at Sora’s firm tone. “You gonna come for me? Hmm? That’s it, just a little more…” Riku’s body suddenly went tight and his thrusts became slower and more erratic as he came, groaning Sora’s name and holding his legs in a vice grip. It would’ve been painful if Sora didn’t feel so good and so close to coming again himself.

 

The slow, wet slide of Riku pulling out only killed his buzz just a bit before it flared back to life when Riku curled a larger hand over Sora’s, rushing him to coming again while he could still feel Riku inside him, the sensation still rushing over his skin like electricity. He curled himself into Riku’s body and tucked his face into his neck, one arm curled around his shoulders to hold himself up as he came. Whatever Riku was whispering in his ear was utter gibberish to his melted brain but the tone of voice and low baritone made him feel even better, a humming buzz already settling over him.

 

“That was…” Sora panted. “Kinda fast.” He giggled. “But _so_ good.”

 

Riku attempted to stand, probably to get something to clean them off with but Sora pulled him back down. “Just a minute, baby, you’re gonna hate waking up all sticky.”

 

Unable to argue with logic that sound Sora let him go, but did keep one eye open to admire the view as Riku headed to the bathroom. He really needed to start doing more cardio, there was no way he could just up and at ‘em the way Riku did after an orgasm. In the meantime, he burrowed himself further into his bed, enjoying how extra soft his sheets felt now that all the nerves in his body were heightened.

 

“You uh, care to explain this?”

 

Sora opened one eye and Riku may have well just thrown a bucket of icy cold water over him, his lethargic lovely feeling gone in an instant and completely replaced with dread. Riku was standing, completely naked and still flushed, against the entry to his bedroom with a smile and one of Sora’s pink and gold shoes he’d been wearing earlier dangling from his finger.

 

Throughout the last few months Sora had thought of a million different things he could say if such a thing happened, but the words just got stuck in his throat and he could feel the panic start to fill his brain so much Riku must be able to read it on his face.

 

“You got a girlfriend?” Riku asked in a teasing voice, turning the shoe over in his hand. He didn’t seem perturbed or worried or even noticed how Sora was having trouble breathing.

 

“It’s Kairi’s!” Sora suddenly shouted and immediately covered his mouth with his hand, fully aware he’d said that far too loud to be anything but blatant that it wasn’t actually Kairi’s. Riku however, seemed to be convinced by his outburst and he dropped the shoe on the floor without another wood, a small amused smile still on his face. He crawled over Sora, running a warm wash cloth between his thighs and over his stomach.

 

“Yeah, I kinda figured.” He replied and pressed a kiss on Sora’s flat stomach. “Figured you were more of a sneaker kinda girl.” The tone was still light and teasing and Sora’s brain told him to laugh or give him a playful tap, anything to show he was totally in on the joke.

 

Riku got up again to put the washcloth back in the bathroom and in the half a minute he was gone again Sora ran his hands over his face to regain his senses. When Riku returned he smiled at him, the panic subsiding slightly. “Yeah well, I haven’t got the legs for those anyway.”

 

It was nice to pretend Riku was laughing after knowing all the facts, but he didn’t. So the banter stung just a little bit. Because Sora was a liar and his boyfriend was sweet and kind and he didn’t deserve him, but he didn’t want to lose him either. A large, warm hand trailed up the side of his leg and he wanted to grab Riku and pull him close.

 

“Please,” Riku said, still running a hand over Sora’s leg. “You’ve got legs for anything.” Before he could give himself away, he tugged Riku down and began manoeuvring them under the covers. “Good idea,” Riku said, tucking Sora into his side so he could lay on his chest. “Thanks for letting me come over, I really feel like I got away from all the… stuff at work.” Sora’s heart ached, because he wanted to blurt it all out right then and there.

 

But he reminded himself about the last time. It had been so awful last time. And with Riku, he felt like he had so much more to lose.

 

“By the way, I’m going shopping with Naminé tomorrow. You wanna come?” Naminé was as close to Riku as Kairi was close to Sora, they’d gone to the same university and had drifted into each other’s orbit because neither of them were very good at making friends, both introverted and a little on the shy side. As it turned out, it was a small world and Sora had ended up going as Riku’s plus one to her wedding, to a woman named Xion, who in turn was good friends with Sora’s brother Roxas. Riku had been Naminé’s man of honor as he’d called it, and it had been the first time Sora knew he was head over heels for him, watching him fuss over Naminé’s dress and hair and getting misty eyed over her vows to Xion.

 

“Xion’s away at a conference, and Nami doesn’t like spending time alone at home.”

 

Watching Riku and Naminé as friends was endearing to Sora, because as rambunctious and playful as Sora and Kairi were, as quiet and comfortable Riku and Naminé were, just enjoying each other’s company and having quiet conversations about things that made them happy.

 

“Sure,” Sora said, trying desperately to forget about the shoe at the end of the bed, out of sight but burning a hole in his brain. “You can buy two cute people lunch, lucky you.”

 

Riku reached over and searched around a bit before he could click off the light, plunging the room into darkness. “I am a lucky me.” Riku cuddled Sora close to him and Sora hung on for dear life. “The luckiest.”

 

“Yeah,” Sora said, willing himself to be brave. “Aren’t you just?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nope, he still doesn't know. But he will in the next chapter. 
> 
> In case you were wondering about Sora's outfit:  
> Dress: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/1d/d8/53/1dd85356fdfdf26b58e767371829ddd2.jpg?b=t  
> Shoes: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/52/b2/4f/52b24fcb44470ca1c55259ffb07ffa8f.jpg?b=t  
> Wig: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/5a/7d/06/5a7d0697f3202ba4ce0fc47aa90c3901.jpg?b=t
> 
> Hopefully the links work. I imagine Sora's drag to usually be very feminine and 'fishy', but he'll venture into over the top comedic drag style on occasion. Definitely not a singer, kind of a dancer, absolutely a crazy lip syncer (back flips, splits, the works) and a pretty decent comedy queen is the idea behind his persona. His hatred of running in heels is all me. I love wearing heels, I HATE running in them. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, look forward to the next chapter because the tension will definitely come to a head there and several other characters will be brought into the picture. 
> 
> If you want to talk or make a new friend, I am always up for that! You can find me on Twitter at @laughertea.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Truth will out.

“One of these days I’m gonna get you into cardio.” Riku came into the living room in his exercise clothes, his skin shiny with sweat and his cheeks a deep red with exertion. He’d made a few attempts at getting Sora to work out with him, but had no luck yet.

 

Sora laughed from his spot on the couch. He’d been spending the time Riku had been working out — an hour, who works out for an hour? — to sort through a set of photos he’d taken two days ago at a wedding in Twilight Town. The train ride was four hours but it had been worth it, the wedding had been beautiful and the couple who had hired him were nice people. “I don’t think so! Besides,” He clicked through a picture of the bride looking pretty but out of focus. “I do cardio. You’re even there for it sometimes.” The grin on his face was teasing.

 

“I’m not gonna dignify that with a response.” Riku replied, smiling back before he leaned down to press a sweaty kiss on Sora’s cheek. He walked into the kitchen and pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge before walking back in to the living room to watch Sora sift through the photos he’d taken on his laptop. “I like that one.” Riku pointed to one and Sora stopped scrolling.

 

It was a picture of the couple sitting on the steps of the train station. They had confided in Sora that it was where they met and where the groom had proposed a few years later. At some point during the reception they had sat down on the steps and looked at each other like the whole world had fallen away and it was only the two of them. Sora had been glad he’d been looking their way when they did.

 

“You’re a romantic, you know that?” Sora said, clicking on the picture to save it for later.

 

Riku shrugged. “Not really. I mean, it depends on your perception of romantic.”

 

Maybe Riku wasn’t romantic, but he was thoughtful. He’d helped organised a surprise birthday party for Kairi, he’d sent Sora’s parents flowers when Sora had let slip it was their thirtieth anniversary, Sora had spied a photo of the two of the two of them framed on Riku’s desk in his office once. If any of that could be considered romantic, Sora was on board with it.

 

“I’m gonna do laundry, you got anything that needs washing?”

 

Despite the fact that someone came in twice a week to clean his apartment, Riku insisted on doing some of the chores himself. “Uh, there’s a couple of things in my bag that you could throw in there. A sweatshirt and some jeans…” Riku called out he’d got it as he ran up the stairs two at a time.

 

Fifteen minutes later he’d reached the end of the photos he’d taken. It was a tedious job, but it meant he could start sending them to his clients so they could pick out the ones they liked. Especially when it came to weddings, Sora always looked forward to their reaction and this wedding had been special.

 

He cleared the table of his stuff, shoving his laptop back in its bag and the camera he’d hooked up to it back in its bag, with much more care than his laptop. Things had been going well lately, Riku had even stayed at his place a few more times. The other man claimed it felt like he could hide away from the world, because Sora’s apartment was so small and warm and cozy and it made him feel safe. Any indignation he had melted away when he saw how peaceful Riku looked curled up in his mismatched sheets. He’d made very sure not to leave anything lying around though.

 

He leaned his head back against the back of the couch and exhaled. Maybe he could tell him. So far, they’d hit very few bumps in the road, minor issues mostly stemming from the fact that Sora was a typical extrovert and liked to spend lots of time with his friends and have loads of people around him, whereas Riku was a classic introvert and a borderline workaholic to boot and preferred spending time with just the two of them.

 

They’d struggled their way through a few heated arguments about it, before coming to a compromising way to handle situations. Sora learned not to stuff his social calendar too much and Riku gave him more freedom to do what he needed and even went with him to parties or out on the town with his friends on occasion.

 

He didn’t open his eyes when he heard Riku’s footsteps come down the stairs.

 

“Okay, now I’m definitely starting to get worried. Or is Kairi using you as a mobile wardrobe?” Sora’s eyes shot open and he turned his head to Riku.

 

He’d clearly taken a shower, his hair still damp and his exercise clothes replaced with black lounge pants and a black long sleeve. And from his pale hands, just like a few weeks before when that shoe had dangled like a loaded gun from his finger, hung the dress he’d worn for a gig at the club the day before yesterday. He’d stopped by his own place to dump his stuff, his wig and makeup and uncomfortable shoes before taking a quick shower to scrub himself clean from the evidence of what he’d been doing before shoving a few things in his overnight bag, the same one he used for his drag before shooting out the door to get to his boyfriend’s apartment.

 

He’d apparently forgotten to take the little sequin dress he’d been wearing out of his bag before shoving his boy clothes in. And now there it was, dangling from Riku’s fingers just like that shoe and all the blood in his body went cold.

 

Unlike the last time, Riku apparently picked up on it and the amused smile on his face dropped just a tad.

 

“Sora?” He asked, his hands holding the dress lowering. “You’re white as a sheet, are you okay?”

 

He wasn’t okay. He was cold all over and his chest was in knots. This wasn’t how he wanted it to happen. He’d been found out, just like last time. He swallowed down the lump in his throat that felt like a brick going down.

 

“It’s mine.” He said, his voice small.

 

Of all the reactions he’d been expecting Sora hadn’t expected to Riku to be silent for a beat and then burst into laughter. The longer Riku laughed the more Sora’s flight instincts began to kick in. Why was Riku even laughing? Did he think Sora was joking? Was he laughing at him?

 

Again, Riku picked up on the fact that Sora wasn’t laughing. He did however, look even more pale, his eyes wide with what looked like fear.

 

“Okay, you’re freaking me out. What do you mean,” He looked down at the dress in his hands. “It’s yours?”

 

It was like yanking a bandaid off. Or resetting a bone. He’d just come out and say it and Riku would know.

 

“I do drag.”

 

Riku looked like he could be knocked over with a feather. It wasn’t that Riku didn’t know what drag was, he was a gay man that had even made his rounds throughout the party scene for a few years. But the thing with drag Sora had always noticed, was that it was something people found funny and interesting until it was someone they knew and it suddenly became much harder for people to understand. And especially now, Riku’s life was so different. He was in higher society, he was respected, he worked very, very hard to be taken seriously by very important people. Sora suddenly remembered the way the receptionist at Riku’s work had looked at him, like she couldn’t believe this man in his jeans and backpack was there at Riku’s behest.

 

“So…” Riku looked down at the dress like it was a puzzle that needed solving. “You uh, do drag.”

 

Sora nodded, starting to stand up from the couch, his hands gripped together to keep them from shaking.

 

“Were you planning on telling me at some point?” Sora knew that tone of Riku’s voice, it was short and business-like and he used it when he was annoyed but didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. But it was a big deal, Sora knew that. “Or were you just waiting for me to find out eventually?”

 

“I-I was going to tell you, it’s just…” Sora began, but the meekness of his voice seemed to spur Riku on to turn the question into a confrontation.

 

“It’s been almost a year!” Riku’s voice started to get louder. “I can get not telling me right away but nearly a year?”

 

The lump in his throat that Sora had swallowed was back and he just couldn’t find the words to say. Usually he gave back as good as he got in an argument, but for some reason he felt so afraid and small. Maybe because he knew in his other arguments it was just their frustration coming out and afterwards they’d figure it out. But this confrontation, the last time Sora had done this, he’d ended up alone and feeling humiliated. The fear that it would happen again kept him from speaking up.

 

All of this obviously did not reach Riku and he could see the frustration in his eyes grow. They’d argued once, a few months after they’d started dating when Riku had gotten pretty jealous over another guy talking and laughing with Sora at a party. He’d told Riku he needed to trust Sora, and without trust they weren’t going to make it work. Riku had been angry but he’d worked hard to get over his jealousy.

 

“You kept this a secret from me. Why? What did I do to make you think you couldn’t tell me?” Riku threw the dress on the coffee table and Sora felt a prickle behind his eyes. “What else have you been keeping secret?”

 

He wasn’t sure why but Sora stood straight up suddenly and made his way to the door, ignoring Riku saying his name. He’d shut down completely. As far as he knew there were only one way this could end and he couldn’t face it. He grabbed his coat and shut his eyes when tears welled up when Riku began to follow him.

 

“Where are you going? Sora!” The desperation in Riku’s tone made him turn before leaving, even if he still sounded angry. He knew Riku could see he was upset but he couldn’t stop it anymore, he threw a garbled apology before pulling the front door shut behind him and made his way out of the building as fast he could.

 

Maybe Riku tried to follow him, but he was too wrapped up getting as far away as he could to notice.

 

—-

 

_“Hi! This is Sora, I’m probably busy so leave a message and I’ll call you back!” Beep!_

 

It was umpteenth time he’d tried to get a hold of Sora and every time he ended up with his voicemail Riku told himself he needed to give it up.

 

Looking back he felt slightly justified for his anger at Sora, but when saw how upset the other man was it felt so wrong. Sora usually put up quite a fight whenever they butted heads over something, so to see him look so meek and desperatemade no sense at all in Riku’s head. For the past two days he’d been trying to get in touch with him, even going so far as to head by his apartment to see if he’d respond to him ringing the doorbell. So far, he’d no luck.

 

After Sora had left he’d laid the offending garment that had started everything out flat on the table. It was a pretty dress, dark blue sequins reflecting the light and just the right shade of blue to Sora’s eyes. He’d tried to imagine his boyfriend in it, but came up short. Sora was small and had a petite build, but he was still masculine. There was a slightly delicate curve to his face, but Riku had always chalked that up to boyish charm. Some men held onto that even well into their twenties.

The door to his office opened and he was pulled from his thoughts.

 

“Sorry to disturb, chief but uh, no luck yet?” He’d broken this morning and informed Lea he and Sora were having big issues and he was having trouble getting in touch with him. Riku shook his head. “You try his friends or his brothers yet?”

 

The only friend he didn’t feel awkward starting up a conversation with was Kairi, and he’d only met Sora’s brothers a handful of times. It felt wrong trying to use Kairi as a go between, but Riku was running out of ideas. “No, not yet.”

 

“Not to be rude and you can tell me to piss off if you want, but,” Lea shut the office door with a firm click. “What happened between you two? I thought things were going great. I mean, I know you two go at it sometimes, but you always bounce back the next day.”

 

In a way he almost felt like if he told Lea he’d be outing Sora. Plus, he hated pushing the professional boundaries between Lea and himself. He got along well with him, but he didn’t want to blur the lines too much. Still, he hadn’t been able to talk to anyone about it, and he was running out of ideas.

 

He wanted to understand what had happened, but nothing made sense.

 

“Sora does drag.” Riku stated simply. There really was no other way to say it. “Apparently has been the entire time we’ve been dating and he, for some reason, never felt the need to tell me about it.”

 

Riku felt it was a big enough bombshell but Lea looked… nonplussed.

 

“Uh yeah, I know.” Lea said and Riku felt taken aback.

 

“You know?” He asked. “What do you mean, you know?”

 

Lea shrugged and held up his hands in front of him. “Isa told me. I mean, I mentioned that Sora looked familiar and he found him online, he used to be in that scene in university. He never did drag but he used to go to shows. He follows some online, especially the artsy ones.”

 

Riku felt once again like the rug had been pulled out from under his feet. Did everyone but him know? Had he done something to warrant his exclusion from this information? He watched Lea dig around in his pocket for his phone and tried to push down his growing frustration.

 

“Here, look,” Lea held out his phone to the online photo platform. Riku had never been big on social media. He’d hated it at his former employer, ending up in the press in embarrassing ways, after that he’d stayed as far away from the public eye as he could manage. “That’s him. Or uh, her, I should say.”

 

The photos were easy to recognise for two reasons — one, he knew that style of photography, having looked at photographs for the past months that were taken in the same manner and two, underneath all the makeup and multiple colored wigs and feminine clothing and more feminine posture and posing he saw his boyfriend.

 

He’d know those blue eyes and that smile anywhere. He knew the shape of that leg, as he scrolled past a photo where Sora was sitting on a high stool in a floral silk dress, one leg cross over the other and peeking out from the slit in the front of the dress. The pictures were tasteful, even almost high fashion. Sora’s expertise as a photographer worked well to make him seem even more convincing as someone other than he was.

 

And Sora was pretty. He looked pretty and happy and expressive.

 

Any anger or frustration suddenly sunk like lead into his shoes when a memory of something Sora had said to him once in that office came back to him.

 

Sora had said his last boyfriend had broken up with, over something Sora hadn’t thought would be a big deal and that he hadn’t been kind about it.

 

So the other night when Riku had raised his voice at him and threw his pretty dress on the table like it was evidence Sora had cheated on him he’d probably been terrified Riku was going to end things with him too, and maybe be unkind about it as well. “Fuck.” He said and handed Lea’s phone back to him.

 

“Don’t know what to tell ya, chief.” Lea said, putting the phone back in his pocket. “But I doubt he was keeping it a secret because he didn’t want you to know. I mean, he seems like the kinda guy to wear his heart on his sleeve.”

 

He was, and Riku was so stupid for every thinking otherwise.

 

“I’m gonna head out, can you clear my shedule?” Riku crossed his office and pulled his suit jacket on.

 

“It’s almost six, your schedule’s clear. Whatever you’re planning, make sure it works. You two being happy makes my life a lot easier.” It came out as a jab, but Riku knew Lea was genuine about wanting him to be happy. He was like Sora in that way, wanting people to be happy, even if he covered it with a layer of sarcastic wit.

 

“Thanks!” Riku said, already dialling on his phone as he ran out of his office.

 

—-

 

Kairi had texted Sora twenty minutes ago that she was going to come by with food and he’d better open the door or else. He’d spent the past two days running through a myriad of emotions. He really wasn’t sure why he ran out on Riku, but he couldn’t find the courage to run back and face him. That included the messages he sent him and the voicemails he’d left, the attempts and calling and even the attempts at ringing his doorbell.

 

He felt a little cowardly for avoiding it, but he didn’t know what else to do. After that night he’d called Kairi in tears, who had come straight over and urged him to talk to Riku. But the same fear that had kept him from telling Riku in the first place had its grip still firmly on Sora. Kairi had let him be, but not without pointing out that she disapproved of his behavior.

 

The doorbell rang and Sora stood to buzz his friend in. He ran his hands through his hair and over his face to make himself look slightly less miserable. He’d had the decency to shower and put on clean clothes but he’d avoided going into his walk-in, completely unable to face that side of his life at the moment.

 

“Hey, Kai, come on up.” He said through the intercom and buzzed her up, leaving the front door open. While he waited for her to come up he paced in the hallway and turned when he heard the front door creak open. “Sorry, I know I…”

 

There beside his best friend was Riku, who Sora was both terrified and elated to see. No matter what had happened, he liked to see him.

 

Kairi looked slightly apologetic but also determined. “I’m going to apologise later but you two need to fix this.” She said it like she honestly believed it could be fixed. She smiled at Sora and then at Riku before turning on her heel and leaving.

 

Sora remained stock still in the hall as Riku entered his apartment. He’d clearly just come from work, suit a little wrinkled but still disheveled perfection.

 

“You didn’t leave me any other choice.” Riku explained, shutting the door behind him.

 

Sora crossed his arms and tucked hands underneath his arms, making himself feel smaller. Even though the heightened emotion of their argument had died down, he still felt so vulnerable now that Riku knew.

 

“I’m sorry.” Riku began. “For how I reacted.”

 

Sora looked up with surprised wide eyes. This wasn’t how he had feared it was going to go. Riku had come to tell him it was over, that Sora was a liar and too weird and they should just quit before things really got difficult.

 

Just like last time.

 

“I guess I was more upset by the fact that you’d kept it secret,” Riku said, taking slow steps towards Sora, like he was a skittish animal. “But I’ve been wracking my brain for the past two days and I talked to Lea and… I figured out why.”

 

Sora looked up through his bangs at Riku. “Yeah?” His voice was timid, which he hated, but he couldn’t help it.

 

“Yeah.” Riku stopped when he was right in front of Sora. “Your ex… he broke it off, because of this, didn’t he?”

 

The gentle way Riku asked him made the dam break in Sora and he hung his head and tearfully said, “Yeah, he did.” And there were tears running down his face before he could stop them, his eyes squeezed shut in a desperate attempt.

 

Sora did not expect two large, warm hands taking Sora’s upper arms in a firm grip to pull him close, slowly like Riku wanted to give him the chance to pull away if he didn’t want to be held. But he did want to, he’d been missing it every minute for the past two days and he burrowed himself into Riku’s chest, wrapped his arms around his waist tightly, absently noting he was probably ruining Riku’s suit.

 

The two hands on his arms trailed upwards until they cupped his cheeks and tilted his head slightly back so they could look each other in the eye. “I want you to know,” Riku said, his voice soft like he only wanted the two of them to hear it, despite their being alone already. “That I stand by what I said to you once, that you can tell me anything. It may take me some time to understand… but I love you too much to get scared off by something like this.”

 

A tentative hopeful feeling filled Sora’s stomach.

 

“And as far as I’m concerned, you’re still my beautiful, funny and talented boyfriend… and the person I saw on Lea’s phone today is just more of you to love.” And just a few days ago, he had told Sora he wasn’t a romantic. “It’s funny… I haven’t had a crush on a girl since grade school. But one look at those pictures and I was gone.”

 

Sora burst into laughter, and a few stray tears dripped down his face. “Googly eyed.” Sora said. “That’s what Lea called us when we first met.”

 

Riku’s thumbs did their best to brush away the tears from underneath Sora’s eyes. His face was probably patchy and swollen from crying but Riku was looking at him with what Sora understood were definitely googly eyes. He was pretty sure he looked at Riku like that too.

 

Sora tilted his head back reflexively when Riku leaned his down to press a deep, firm kiss on Sora’s lips. His eyes slipped shut and didn’t see Riku’s eyes catching something out of the corner of them before shutting as well. He sighed into it, his body relaxing with relief and fatigue from two days of heightened emotions of various kinds. Kissing Riku always made him feel better.

 

While they kissed he felt Riku lead him backwards, until the backs of his legs hit the edge of his bed and he automatically sat down, effectively ending the kiss. He looked up at Riku with a little bit of surprise, but especially when the other man knelt down in front of him.

In his hand was the same shoe from a few weeks ago, it had rolled under the bed when Riku had dropped it there.

 

With the shoe in one hand Riku reached down and took Sora’s right leg in his hand, deftly removing his sock so he could slip the shoe on like he was Cinderella, if a slightly frumpier, more boyish version. Of course it fit perfectly, and he twisted his foot around in Riku’s relaxed hold, a blush staining his cheeks at the realisation it was the first time he was wearing women’s clothes in front of him.

 

Riku’s smile was part amused, part pure warmth and he slid his hand from Sora’s shoe encased foot up his calf, a tiny shiver going through Sora’s body from how sensual it felt to be touched that way.

 

“Told you.” Riku said and Sora’s head titled in confusion.

 

“What?”

 

He squeezed Sora’s calf and just before Riku kissed him he said, “Legs for anything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's out, they've dealt with it, but there obviously still will be a few hurdles as they go along. But they're googly eyed over each other, so they'll be fine. 
> 
> Next chapter will be introducing Sora's brothers, and will have more Kairi and LeaIsa. I made a little mention of some Namixi, that'll be in the chapter afterwards. LeaIsa and Namixi are my newest faves, and I love, love, love the idea of Riku and Namine as good friends. 
> 
> If you'd like to talk to me, or yell at me, or whatever! I'm on Twitter, so you can find me at @laughertea.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku's parents are insufferable, Sora's oldest brother has interesting news and Riku sees Sora in drag for the first time.

Once a month Riku’s parents came to the city. So once a month Riku was subjected to an entire evening with them, if he was lucky just dinner, but sometimes it was dinner and cocktails or a trip to the theatre or something else that made Sora cringe just a bit. And because Sora was now a rather permanent fixture in Riku’s life, he was now also subjected to an entire evening with them.

 

Riku told him the first few times he didn’t need to come. It wasn’t that Riku’s parents were bad people, they were just so quintessentially upper class it was hard to take them serious. Riku’s mother had stared at Sora the entire night and his father had ignored him altogether.

 

“They’re waiting desperately for the day I wake up and decide I’m going to marry a nice woman.” Riku had told him, looking mostly amused and just a little bit sad. “They weren’t bad parents, they were just never very interested in me beyond what I could achieve.”

 

That evening his parents didn’t disappoint.

 

“But the merger is a good thing.” His mother Aya said, her dinner plate still half full but her wine glass almost empty. Both Riku’s parents had stopped eating halfway through their dinners and then Riku did as well so Sora had put his fork down from its path halfway to his mouth. It felt awkward to keep eating when it was obvious dinner time was over. And it was so good, too. “I saw that television tower in Uptown, didn’t they design that?”

 

“They did.” Riku replied, looking down at his wine. “And it’s not a merger, it’s just a joint assignment.” And currently the source of Riku’s stress. The deadline was in six months and Sora was almost counting the days.

 

His father Haku, who was taller than Riku and had clearly given him his masculine bone structure and broad shoulders, cleared his throat. He’d managed a hello and how are you to Sora but ever since he’d been perfectly happy ignoring him. “I thought you enjoyed working for Ansem. You do remember what a golden opportunity he gave you.”

 

It was a conversation they had every single time they spoke and Sora knew it drove Riku up the wall. “I remember. I don’t want to talk about work anymore, all I do all day is talk about work. Sora and I were planning on going on a trip,” Sora lit up at the mention of their plans and thankful for the change of subject that was clearly irritating Riku. “for our anniversary.”

 

If it had been Sora’s parents at the dinner table Sora’s mother would’ve erupted in her enthusiasm and started drilling both of them what their plans were, while Sora’s father watched with bemused, indulgent smile. “Yeah, can’t believe it’s been a year. Riku really spoils me…”

 

Haku, for the first time that evening since they greeted each other, finally acknowledged him and interrupted him. “What did you say you did again?”

 

“Dad.” Riku said sharply. Sora looked down at the table in confusion. He’d told Riku’s parents what he did, over and over. It was as if they weren’t physically capable of retaining the idea that their son was in a committed relationship with a freelance photographer.

 

“I’m a photographer.” Sora said, unwilling to back down from the challenge. “I do freelance work, mostly commercial because it’s steady income but sometimes I do editorials, which are more fun and creatively satisfying. It’s the reason Riku and I met, so I’m really glad.”

 

Haku’s gaze was intense and Aya’s gaze was almost bored, still swirling the wine in her glass. “ _Dad_.” Riku said again, as if he was trying to verbally step between his father and Sora. “That’s enough.”

 

“I’ve been wondering since we met. I’ve in some ways made peace with my son’s lifestyle choices,but if he had to bring a man home he could have at least had the decency to shack up with one that had actually made something of himself.”

 

“I mean it, you need to stop right now…” Sora drew himself back in his chair at the tone of Riku’s voice. It was even and low, but he could hear the underlying rage.

 

“But it does seem rather convenient, you with a job with no real stability, and he with more munny than he really knows what to do with.” Sora looked down at the table. He wasn’t upset but he didn’t understand why Riku’s father seemed so hellbent on disliking him so much. “And now…”

 

Riku’s fist banged on the table, not too hard but hard enough that the glasses vibrated. “I said that’s _enough_.” A few people in the restaurant were looking at them curiously. “I don’t care if the only thing you feel about me is disapproval and resentment for all that I could have been but don’t say another word about him.” He stood and Sora stared at him before his eyes darted to Riku’s parents, who both looked embarrassed but likely more so because they were the center of attention.

 

A waiter stepped up to them and asked in a low voice, “Is everything alright, sir?”

 

“Yes, thank you.” Riku replied without breaking eye contact with his father. “We’re leaving and I’d like his dinner wrapped up to go.”

 

At that point Aya’s mouth fell open. The waiter nodded and walked off with Sora’s plate. “Honestly Riku, you’re making a scene. And this is a five star restaurant, you can’t ask for food to go.”

 

Riku however ignored her. “My boyfriend didn’t get a chance to finish his dinner, so I’m taking it and him somewhere he can eat it in peace.” Sora figured he might get in trouble if he smirked at Riku’s parents but he managed to keep control of his face. “The bill’s on me, don’t bother getting up. Sora?”

 

Sora shot up from his seat and took Riku’s hand, giving his parents a smile and a, “Have a good evening!” before he let Riku pull him out of the restaurant. He meant it, too.

 

—-

 

“It wasn’t as bad as the second time, the one after you introduced me. Man, that was a nightmare.” Sora was eating what was left of his pasta, standing in Riku’s kitchen half sprawled on his countertop. “It just uh, escalated quickly this time.”

 

“I’m sorry about what he said, he was out of line.” Riku replied. He walked up next to Sora and ran a hand over his back and let his hand rest there.

 

“It’s fine,” Sora said around a mouth of pasta and then offered a bit on his fork to Riku. “and you have got to try this.”

 

Riku’s face twisted a little and then sighed. “Fine.” He wrapped his lips around the fork slowly and took the bite into his mouth. “Mmm,” He swallowed. “that’s certainly an experience.”

 

Sora laughed and kept eating. “You just don’t like carbs.”

 

“I just hate feeling so full. Carbs do that, you know. On second thought,” Once Sora swallowed a bite he leaned down and kissed him square on the mouth, the element of surprise leaving Sora’s mouth open just a tad so Riku could dive right in. Sora made a surprised noise before leaning up into the other man. After a few seconds Riku pulled away and smiled. “not too bad after all.”

 

“You’re such a flirt, get your hands off me… ah!” Sora began to wriggle in Riku’s arms when the taller man tightened his grip around him and began pressing teasing kisses wherever he could reach, his fingers digging into Sora’s side to tickle him. He thrashed in Riku’s grip, throwing his head back to laugh loudly, half heartedly trying to push Riku away. “S-stop, Riku…!” He threw his arms up and wrapped them around Riku’s neck and managed to strategically press his mouth to Riku’s, which was enough for his tickling fingers to cease and curl into Sora’s side.

 

After a minute standing in the kitchen the kiss broke and Riku smiled, “Well played.”

 

“Hey, I’m not just a pretty face.” Sora said with a grin.

 

Riku turned away from him and picked up the scarf Sora had thrown on the counter. There was a small confused look on his face and he held the scarf up to his face. “This doesn’t smell like you, it smells like…”

 

“My perfume,” Sora said shyly. He was open about everything to do with drag now, but he still felt a little self conscious whenever Riku ran into something to do with it. “I wore it two nights ago when I was performing, the perfume gets in my scarf and it takes forever till it fades.”

 

“Ah,” Riku said, holding the scarf up to his nose again. “smells nice. Is this another thing?” Riku had been asking questions left and right ever since he found out, he was so interested Sora sometimes wondered if he wanted to get into himself. When he asked, Riku had denied it though.

 

Sora shook his head. “Not necessarily. I mean, some queens aren’t even feminine, let alone go for little details like that. I just like the feeling… it makes me feel pretty.” So far Riku had only seen Sora in drag in pictures, ranging from the artful ones he posted online to racier ones he sent unwittingly while Riku was in a meeting. There was something paradoxical and exciting about seeing his boyfriend half hidden in a woman’s appearance, split between being a gay man who wasn’t attracted to the subtle curve of Sora’s breast and cinched waist but simultaneously deeply attracted to the sharp male curve of his shoulders and the slightest hint of his Adam’s apple peeking out from between wavy hair.

 

Riku walked up to him again and kissed his forehead, “You’re always pretty.” and turned to hang the scarf up by the door.

 

“I uhm,” Sora said. “was thinking maybe the next time I have a job at the club, I could get ready here?” Most of his own things were already in Riku’s apartment, so his own was basically just a place where he kept his camera equipment and drag. They’d had a few conversations about living together, but it was a little tricky, considering most of the apartment and everything in it belonged to Riku. “You could… watch me get ready?”

 

He’d been thinking about the approach for almost a week now, it seemed the easiest way to answer a long list of questions Riku likely still had.

 

Riku was frowning at his phone when he walked back to Sora but looked up with surprised eyes at Sora’s offer.

 

“Are you… sorry, it’s my parents. They’re being…” He set the phone down on the counter, a little harder than strictly necessary. “Never mind. Are you sure you’re okay with that? I mean, I get that it can get a little… technical?”

 

Suddenly Sora burst into laughter and Riku looked even more confused.

 

“What? I mean, when you explained uhm…”

 

“Tucking.”

 

“Yes, that. It sounded technical.” Sora didn’t miss the way Riku unconsciously crossed one leg over the other. “And uhm, painful?”

 

Sora shrugged. “If you do it right it’s mostly just uncomfortable. If you don’t feel okay with watching me do it, I can do that first and you can watch the rest. Besides, tucking is one thing, try getting yourself into a pair of pantyhose without tearing them. Now _that’s_ technical.”

 

Riku laughed and walked around him towards the fridge. He pulled the door open and when he turned around Sora gasped dramatically.

 

“What is that?!”

 

Riku held the can of soda in his hand up and looked nonplussed. “Sea salt soda?”

 

“No, no… that’s not just sea salt soda, it’s a sugar laden, food color packed and additive full beverage and since when do you drink that stuff?” Sora was absolutely beside himself with shock. The most exciting thing he’d ever seen Riku drink was club soda, and that was just water with bubbles in it.

 

With a smirk Riku snapped the can open and took a long, theatrical sip. “What can I say, nobody’s perfect.”

 

“You’re gonna get fat.” Sora said, his face serious but his eyes teasing.

 

Riku put one arm around Sora’s waist and shoved his face in the other man’s neck. “I think I could pull off the curvy look.”

 

Sora laughed and sank back in the half embrace. “You’re kidding right, you can pull off any look.” He turned towards Riku so their faces were almost touching. When he spoke he did so softly, “So what do you think? About watching me… get into drag?”

 

He took a sip and pressed a wet, sugary kiss to Sora’s jaw. “Are you kidding me? When’s your next job? I’ve been wanting to see it for weeks, I’ve just been too chicken to ask.”

 

“Huh? Why?” Sora stole the can from him and took a sip of his own.

 

“Because I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. It took a lot for you to come out with it, I wanted you to involve me in it at your own pace.”

 

A sudden rush of emotions flooded Sora’s chest and he had a moment of disbelief how he managed to find such a man and get to keep him. He curled his arm around Riku, mindful of the soda between them and pressed a kiss to his chin. “I love you.” He whispered.

 

“I love you, too.” Riku whispered back. “Now give me back my soda.”

 

Sora laughed loudly and did what he was told.

 

—-

 

“Why are you always late?”

 

His brother sighed so deeply and dramatically, it was like Sora had asked him to climb a mountain on his bare feet in the middle of winter with no food or water.

 

Every once in a while Sora updated his portfolio, and did so by taking shots of his family and friends in various shapes and forms. He’d never tell him straight to his face, but he enjoyed taking his brother’s picture more than anyone else’s. He had a photogenic quality to him that was impossible to imitate or fake, and the fact that he didn’t necessarily enjoy having his picture taken, even added to the energy of the photograph.

 

“Because,” his brother said, dumping his heavy black leather jacket on the floor of the photo studio. “I left home too late to get here on time.”

 

“Thank you for the scientific explanation, Van, that’s really helpful.”

 

Vanitas was the oldest in a three man line up of brothers Sora had. His younger brothers, Ventus and Roxas were twins, practically identical but wildly different in nature.

 

“Hey, I can leave if you want.” Vanitas said, sitting himself down on the high stool surrounded by camera lights and in front of a gray backdrop. “I can think of a dozen things I’d rather be doing right now than this.”

 

“I’llgo as fast as I can.” Sora mumbled as he made adjustments on his camera. He held it up and snapped a test shot. “Say, I’ve gotta show next week, you wanna come? You can smoke by the way, if you want. The owner of the building doesn’t give a shit.”

 

Vanitas grunted an affirmative, though Sora wasn’t sure to what. Of his three brothers, Vanitas came to his shows the most often. He’d also been the first person to find out Sora did drag. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, lighting one up and taking a long drag.

 

“You just like taking pictures of me smoking. Makes your pictures more interesting.” Vanitas blew smoke out and smirked at his little brother. “Your boytoy gonna be there?”

 

Without looking up from making more readjustments to his camera, Sora replied, “Don’t call him that. He has a name. You’ve met him several times. Stop being such an asshole about him. It’s been almost a year, it’s time to accept that he’s not going anywhere any time soon. And yes, he will be there.” The words were harsh but they were spoken in a casual tone. They always spoke to each other like that.

 

“I just think you’d have to be pretty dumb,” Vanitas lifted one foot to rest on the rungs of the stool, turning his body slightly as Sora snapped pictures. “To not notice your boyfriend dresses up like a girl on the regular.”

 

“I went to great lengths to make sure he didn’t find out.” He stopped taking pictures to run a hand through his hair. “Turn to the left a little, yeah great… why are you so determined to dislike him?”

 

Vanitas rolled his eyes and took another drag of his cigarette. “Sora, honestly. The guy’s an uptown, bougie business twat that gets paid a million munny a year to draw shit that the people who build it get paid shit for.” The ever present don’t fuck with me look on his face deepened into a scowl that put Sora on edge. His brother was always on the cusp of picking fights, but usually he managed to reel it in around his little brothers. “You must be fucking stellar in bed because guys like that usually don’t end up with guys like you.”

 

Sora felt the wind knocked out of him a little. He lowered his camera and stared straight at his brother. “Is it okay to assume you’re being this god level of asshole because you’re worried about me?” Vanitas scoffed but Sora continued. “It’s not like the last time, Van. He’s good to me. His parents already rained judgmental hellfire down on me this week, I don’t need more from you. And do not,” He made a sharp gesture with his finger before Vanitas could fully open his mouth. “use that as an excuse. Riku despises his parents behaviour and apologises for it every single chance he gets. I make him happy, and he makes me happy and you really are going to have to get used to it.” He ended his rant by raising his camera again. “And yes, it just so happens, I am stellar in bed.”

 

“Probably best. The last one was easy to kick the shit out, but this one looks like he could handle himself.”

 

“Not that it would matter, you fight dirty anyway. And what do you mean, the last one was easy to… did you?”

 

“Kick the snot out of your ex after he outed you in front of your entire family and then dumped you?” Vanitas asked, dropping his cigarette on the floor and crushing it under his boot until it was out. “You’re fucking right I did.”

 

It would be touching if it wasn’t proof his brother was slightly unhinged.

 

“I’m not very scrappy so if anyone ends up breaking your heart, they’re in luck. Though I think Roxas could take them. Good thing you’re not seeing anyone right now.” Sora leaned down to snap pictures of Vanitas hands, who sat calmly but rolling his eyes. He grunted again.

 

“You aren’t, right?” Sora waited for a minute but Vanitas refused to look at him. “Alright, who is it and I’d like to shake their hand because that is true bravery.”

 

“Fuck you, and it doesn’t matter because it’s just sex.” Vanitas said, lighting up another cigarette.

 

“Aw, come on, don’t be like that! Who is she?”

 

“You’re not gonna like the answer.” Vanitas replied.

 

Sora scoffed and took a few more pictures. “What do you mean? Someone is finally brave enough to date my one of a kind brother and you think I’ll be anything but impressed?” Sora laughed. “I mean, I’m not saying you’re a…”

 

“It’s Kairi.”

 

The silence that fell was almost comical. Vanitas took another drag of his cigarette. When Sora began to laugh nervously Vanitas smirked. “That’s crazy, she would’ve told me!”

 

“She’s been planning to but she thought it was too soon.” Vanitas sounded worryingly calm and level headed to Sora, it was freaking him out. He set his camera down gently, walked back to his brother and plucked the cigarette out from between his fingers, taking a long drag and only coughing a little bit when he exhaled.

 

“That’s so gross, I don’t know why I just did that.” He coughed again.

 

Vanitas took the cigarette back. “Then don’t do it, you idiot. It’s not a big deal, Sora. We’re just hanging out. I’m trying to be a regular human being because I don’t know… she’s kinda cool.”

 

“I need to sit down.” Sora wobbled over to a pillow on the floor and sat down heavily on it.

 

“Will you stop being so fucking dramatic, and try to at least be happy that I’m making an attempt to maintain an adult relationship with another human being?” It wasn’t often that Vanitas let a little vulnerability shine through and whenever it did it was usually only in front of his brothers but when it did it made a huge impression on Sora.

 

Sora stood and walked over to his brother. “I’m uh, happy for you?” He held his arms out to the side. “Even if Kairi’s in for an earful.”

 

“I look forward to hearing about that conversation eventually.” Vanitas said, holding his arms open with half lidded eyes and a smug smirk. “You want an awkward hug, baby brother?”

 

Sora nodded and shuffled into the circle of his brother’s arms and stood stiffly when Vanitas wrapped his arms around him. “Don’t worry, I promise not to become too likeable.”

 

“Please don’t.” Sora mumbled. “That would be weird.”

 

Vanitas gave Sora a little push backwards. “Now finish up, I’ve got places to fucking be.”

 

—-

 

For the first time in years Sora realised how much stuff he needed to get in drag. At home or at the club everything was always in the place it always was so he never really noticed.

 

“I kinda want to be a total guy and say go for the blonde but the brown is more… you, I guess.” Riku was on the bed in black lounger pants and a black shirt that was sliding down one pale shoulder. He was holding a wig in each hand, a short blonde pincurled in one and a chestnut brown in the other, longer and loosely waved. He closed his eyes and held the two up before opening his eyes again and holding the brown wig out. “This one.”

 

Sora had already covered his own hair with a wig cap and tape and his face was halfway done. Riku had sat on the counter of the bathroom, looking fascinated as Sora made his eyebrows disappear and any hint of facial hair disappear under correcting colors. He knew that up close drag makeup looked thick enough to wade feet in, but Riku hadn’t seemed to care.

 

“Alright.” He said, taking the wig and laying it down next to the blue dress he was wearing that night. “Thank you.” Sora said, leaning over to press a powdery kiss to Riku’s mouth.

 

Riku declared the extra-extra bathroom Sora’s bathroom, so he could stash all his makeup and hair things and whatever else he needed to transform himself. So far, the entire process had been new but not as daunting as Riku had been a little nervous it would be. The first thing they’d done was shower together, Sora took Riku’s hands and set it between his thighs, explaining it helped if he came once or twice before tucking.

 

That had been easy to go along with, and Sora had returned the favor with a sunny smile and just a bit of an evil glint in his eye.

 

After that Sora had, despite what little facial hair he had, shaved. He’d been under the impression Sora had just been one of those men that didn’t have much body hair, but it turned out whatever body hair he did have, he had waxed off. Easier and less time consuming than shaving, he explained.

 

Once he was smooth and clean he tugged on his boxers and a silky sleeveless shirt he called his makeup-shirt and started in on his face. Riku watched him like he was watching a timelapse video of a flower opening.

 

Back in the bathroom, Sora had drawn on eyebrows, the color matching the color of the wig he was going to put on perfectly. His hands were steady as a rock as he applied layer upon layer upon layer of eyeshadow, those colors also corresponding with the color of the dress he was going to wear.

 

“Wait…” Riku said, taking the eyeliner Sora holding to make a wing from the corner of his eye. “You were uh, a little too high. The other side’s lower. Is it okay if I…” If there was one thing Riku knew he was good at it, it was spacial insight and drawing lines where lines were supposed to go. He ended the liner in a flick that matched the other perfectly.

 

Sora looked in the mirror and giggled. “Oh wow! I’ve never gotten them that even before. I mean, normally it doesn’t matter because I bury them in lashes, but it’s nice to know underneath those my liner is on point.” He then carried on doing just that, big cat eye lashes topped one on top of the other making their appearance.

 

“A lot of queens I know wear lenses. I don’t like wearing them. I wore hazel ones once and a black wig and I looked like a female version of my brother.” One side of lashes popped on and he blinked rapidly a few times to check if it was securely fastened.

 

“Terrifying thought.” Riku said, holding up the other half of the set of lashes. “Don’t wear lenses, your eyes should never be anything but blue.”

 

“Sap.” Sora said, taking the lashes and applying glue to them. When they were on the ring of dark lashes around his eyes made them look even more blue than they had before. “So all that’s left is lips. Oh, and should I add glitter?”

 

Riku laughed. “Your eyelashes are almost touching your hair line, I’m pretty sure this look needs glitter.” Riku rummaged around in Sora’s bags, pulling out a small jar of silver glitter that reflected various shades of silver and blue. “Here, these.”

 

“Sure this is your first time?” Sora asked, taking the jar from him.

 

“Hey, I might not do drag but I’m still a gay man. I’ve worn my fair share of glitter.” Riku slid off the countertop and walked out of the bathroom. “I’m gonna get something to drink, you want something?”

 

“Just water’s fine.” Sora replied, daintily dotting his eyelids with a makeup brush full of glitter.

 

Riku walked down the hall to the kitchen. There were still a few plates on the countertop from their dinner. Sora had insisted they cook, something Riku was learning to enjoy. He’d never known half the things he was even capable doing in the kitchen, but Sora seemed determined to figure it out. He reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of green juice for himself and a bottle of water for Sora. He returned to the bathroom where Sora was lining his lips with a color that seemed almost like his natural lip color but just slightly rosier.

 

“Here, baby.” He set the bottle of water on the counter. “I’m gonna get dressed. You seem… getting nearer to being ready.”

 

“Yeah!” Sora agreed. “Just need to get my curves on and then I can get dressed too.”

 

Riku stood in front of him for a moment, taking in the amount of detail on Sora’s face that made him look just slightly feminine enough to pass without looking like a caricature. Sora mentioned he did over the top drag on occasion, but that it was even more work than what he’d been doing and it took much more patience.

 

“Be right back.” He walked to the bedroom with a slow pace, so Sora could have a chance to finish getting ready. If he wanted, Riku could be done getting dressed in five minutes, but he didn’t mind taking his time. He entered the walk-in adjacent to the bedroom and picked out a pair of dark gray silk woolen pants that rolled up to show his ankles. After a moment or two of deliberation he pulled a dark yellow shirt out of the closet and kept the first few top buttons open.

 

His hair, cut short enough that he didn’t need to do much to get any kind of style into it, was given a good shake and combing through with his fingers until it looked simultaneously messy and styled enough to pass. He completed his look with the black leather jacket that was Sora’s favorite and the same sneakers he’d worn the evening they first met.

 

“Hey, can you help me zip this up…” Sora’s voice cut into the walk-in closet. He was wearing the blue dress that he’d laid out, the back hanging wide open. Underneath Riku could see the beige flesh colored fabric of his waist cincher and the strapless bra he wore underneath the dress to create the illusion of breasts.

 

With the wig on, and the makeup done and the glittery heels he was wearing that made his legs look amazing he could practically pass for the real thing. “You look stunning.” Riku said, pulling the zipper up gently until it was shut at the top. He kissed in between Sora’s shoulderblades, the skin warm and soft.

 

“Thanks,” Sora said, his voice suddenly a little shy. “you look sexy.”

 

Riku smiled and twirled a curled end of a lock of Sora’s hair around his finger. “Thank you.”

 

“The girls at the club are gonna eat you alive if I take you backstage.”

 

Riku laughed and reached into his jacket pocket. “I have something for you.” He pulled out a small black box and Sora’s heart stopped just a little. He took it gently when Riku held it out to him and willed himself to stop feeling so silly.

 

He pulled the lid open with a click and inside was a pair of earrings that looked suspiciously like…

 

“Are these diamonds?” Sora asked, holding the box in his hands suddenly like it was made of glass.

 

“I believe they are.” Riku said, pulling his jacket on. “A good luck charm, for tonight.”

 

Sora picked one of the earrings out of the box and handed it to Riku, who held it on his open palm obediently. He swept his long chestnut hair to the side and put the earring in, enjoying the swing of it. With another smile he took the other earring and put it in the other ear. Riku snapped the box shut and took Sora gently by the shoulders, turning them gently around so they could both look in the mirror. “There, now you’re done.”

 

“Thank you.” Sora said again, trying to figure out if diamond earrings warranted a more intense response than just a thank you. He leaned up to kiss Riku’s jaw, leaving only a little trace of lipstick behind.

 

“My father’s wrong about a lot of things when it comes to me but he was right about one thing.” Riku’s hands slid from Sora’s shoulders down the side of his ribs, his fingertips just barely brushing over his illusionary breasts and coming to rest on his much tinier waist. “I do have more munny than I know what to do with. So I like spending it on you. I like spending it on every one I care about, because it’s so easy. If I can help someone, or make someone happy… or make them look at me the way you’re looking at me right now.” He pressed his nose into the place where Sora’s face melted into the hairline of his wig, smelling hairspray and makeup and that flowery perfume he’d smelled in Sora’s scarf a week ago. “It’s worth every munny I’ve got.”

 

“If I’d known me being in drag would make you such a romantic I’d have come out much sooner.” Sora said.

 

Riku laughed and gave him a hearty thump on his rear, making Sora exclaim loudly.

 

“You jerk, you can’t do that, I’m a _lady_.”

 

“Time to get in the car, lady,” Riku said, ushering Sora out of the door and simultaneously admiring his legs in heels. “Try not to spook my doorman.”

 

“Please! Your doorman loves me.” They shuffled their way through the apartment and to the front door, Sora’s bag in Riku’s hand. “Oh, did I tell you? Vanitas and Kairi are a thing…”

 

Riku smiled at his boyfriend as he jabbered on and let the front door shut behind him.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! I wanted to update this much sooner, but I was a little stuck. But now I'm back in the plot and I've got lots more ideas where to take the story. 
> 
> Yes, I think the concept of Kairi and Vanitas is cool, in an AU context. Not sure in canon, considering neither of them have a huge amount of screenplay and/or character development and obviously there is zero basis for it. After KH3 I am in loveee with Vanitas. I'm not sure if they're going to bring him back but I would not be at all sad if they did. 
> 
> Yeah, Riku's parents are assholes in this story. I like to mix it up.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can find me on Twitter at @laughertea.
> 
> Until next time!


	7. Interlude: first date and first kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little in-between chapter: an excerpt from Riku and Sora's first date and their first kiss.

 

_First Date_

 

Their first date was at a bar, the floors weren’t sticky but it wasn’t as ridiculously high end as Sora was afraid it was going to be. Riku called him the day after his party to ask if he wanted to get a drink on Saturday, to which Sora had immediately agreed to. Technically he had dinner plans with his brothers, but he had those once every three weeks so he felt a date with the best looking man he’d ever seen was a legitimate reason to cancel. 

 

It was a really nice place, and it was a really nice date.

 

Riku was so normal and down to earth, despite his job and his financial circumstance. He listened to Sora talk about his own work with great interest as they sat side by side behind a small table overlooking the rest of the bar. There were people drinking, playing darts, laughing and some were even dancing.

 

“Wait a minute… you’re a physical therapist?” Riku looked amazed.

 

Sora laughed. “Not technically, I only got my bachelor. So I can name pretty much every bone, muscle and ligament in your body and I know the basics of physical therapy but I haven’t got a doctorate, so I can’t practice.”

 

The bend of Riku’s wrist fascinated Sora, wrapped around his glass of club soda with lemon. He had such elegant hands, long fingers and protruding bones. He wanted to take a picture of them.

 

He wanted to take them in his own.

 

“So, why photography?”

 

“After my bachelor I was a little lost, wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I’ve always loved taking pictures of things and people, have since I was a little kid.” He took a sip of his own soda, which looked much more sugary than Riku’s. “I told my parents I was gonna use all my savings to travel for a year. They didn’t get it, but they couldn’t exactly stop me from doing it. Used some of my savings to buy a really nice camera, and off I went. By the time I got back I had a pretty huge portfolio and a website and I booked my first job a few weeks after I got back.”

 

Riku sighed and moved his position so he was sitting more comfortably and just slightly closer to Sora. “That sounds amazing. Just going off and being… free, even if it’s just for a little while.”

 

“I take it you never did anything like that?”

 

Riku scoffed and laughed. “Hardly. My parents have always seen me more as a template for an extension of their success and I… shit, sorry. First date might not be the right place to unload about my parents.”

 

Sora moved his hand so the back of it brushed against Riku’s wrist and he smiled when their eyes met. “That’s okay, I don’t mind. Kinda the point right, getting to know each other?”

 

There was movement against his hand and Riku’s wrist turned so he could wrap his pinky around Sora’s, just like he’d done on his couch before he asked him out.

 

“You’re right. Let’s just say, they’re deeply involved in the parts of my life that, should they disappear, I couldn’t care less about and completely uninterested in the parts of my life that matter to me.” Sora closed the distance and tangled his fingers with Riku’s.

 

“They must’ve done something right, considering how you are now.” Sora said and enjoyed the flush on Riku’s face.

 

“You’re sweet. What about your parents?”

 

“Mine?” Sora asked. “Just run-of-the-mill parents I guess, they’re good people and they took good care of me and my brothers.”

 

“Brothers?” Riku cocked his head in interest.

 

Sora laughed. “Yeah, three of them. Vanitas is my older brother, he’s uh, a handful. Then there’s me, and I have two younger brothers, twins, Roxas and Ventus.”

 

“Interesting names.” Riku said. “And four boys, your mother must’ve been tired all the time when you guys were younger.” His fingers tightened around Sora’s, the warmth of their skin just the right temperature without getting sweaty.

 

“Yeah, we gave her a run for her money. But I love ‘em all a lot, they’re my best friends.”

 

Riku’s face was soft and Sora felt his stomach do cartwheels. He really was the best looking man he’d seen in ages, and he’d seen his fair share of good looking guys, especially on his year long sabbatical. That year had been educational to say the least. He’d never been great at studying so he’d kept himself pretty busy at college, the occasional date or drunk hook up happening, but it wasn’t until he went out into the world that he really figured out what kind of person he was.

 

“Do you miss it?” Riku asked, his thumb running slowly over the back of Sora’s hand. “Your freedom?”

 

No one had ever asked Sora that, not sine he’d gotten back. Some of the other travellers he’d met on his way before he went home had asked him if he was going to miss it, but once he’d arrived it was like he’d never left.

 

“I think I found enough freedom to keep me happy. In the end, a life like I had that year isn’t made to last… and I don’t know, I’d like to settle down someday. But photography helps me feel like I’m not stuck being someone I’m not.”

 

Riku nodded. “Well, I’m glad. Otherwise I’d have spent another evening at home working.”

 

“Stop it, like you don’t have a line around the door of people who want to take you out.” Sora genuinely couldn’t believe how someone like Riku thought he wasn’t a total catch.

 

Riku shrugged. “I’m a little picky when it comes to dating.”

 

“And you picked me.”

 

Riku nodded and gave Sora another smile that made his toes curl. “I did.”

 

—-

 

_First Kiss_

 

The last time Riku was in an underground tram station he’d been in university. His parents hated the fact that he refused to drive everywhere and scoffed and sighed in their passive aggressive way whenever he said he’d take the tram home instead of their car with chauffeur. Once he graduated and started making his own money, he did buy a car and in the end he got used to driving to work and then everywhere.

 

After their date, Riku offered to drive Sora home but Sora had refused, waving his hands and telling him how out of his way it was. Riku hadn’t minded but he didn’t want to seem pushy or give Sora the wrong impression.

 

He just… really, really liked him.

 

So he walked with him to the tram station, an underground one that smelled earthy and damp and not even gross like some of the tram stations did. Sora had a hand tucked in the crook of his arm.

 

“You really don’t have to wait with me, it’s fine.” Sora said, but he didn’t let go of Riku’s arm.

 

He smiled down at Sora. “I don’t mind. My apartment’s only a ten minute drive from here so it’s no trouble. I uh, don’t really want to say goodbye yet.”

 

The smile that appeared on Sora’s face was so bright it was nearly blinding. Throughout the entire evening it had pleased Riku how much and how easily Sora smiled, but in such a genuine way. A magnetic, happy charm that Riku felt pulled into.

 

There were fourteen minutes on the electric board that signalled when the next tram would come that would take Sora away from him again.

 

“I had a really good time, Riku.” Sora said, ushering in the goodbye that needed to be said before the fourteen minutes were up. His hand slid down Riku’s so it could grasp his own, his hands warm and dry. “The floors weren’t even sticky, just like you promised!”

 

Riku laughed, reaching out to take Sora’s other hand in his own. “What can I say, I’m a man of my word.”

 

He wanted to kiss Sora so badly he could feel it all the way down to his toes. All he had to do was lean down and do it, and there were only eleven minutes left on the board.

 

“You wouldn’t believe the amount of bars I’ve been taken to, even after swearing the floors wouldn’t be sticky, that had horribly sticky floors. I know, I know.., it’s a silly hangup, but I’m very attached to my sneakers and sticky soles make my sneaker loving heart cry.”

 

Nine minutes.

 

Riku looked down at Sora’s sneakers, dark blue with white lettering and shapes on them with bright red shoe laces. He did have to admit, they were very nice sneakers.

 

“Hey…” Sora said. “I really hope this isn’t the only time.”

 

Eight minutes and Sora was implying he wanted to see Riku again.

 

“I know plenty more bars without sticky floors, maybe even a few restaurants.” Riku offered tentatively.

 

“That sounds tempting.” Sora leaned a bit closer. “But I’d really have to see them to believe it.”

 

Riku laughed, a little breathless as their faces came closer.

 

Sora squeezed both his hands tightly. “You’ve got five minutes left, are you gonna do it, or aren’t you?”

 

If the entire evening hadn’t made Riku want to kiss Sora than that tone, that devil may care charm, lit a fire in him. He looked up at the board one more time and saw the bright orange five staring down at him, daring him to do it before his time was up. He’d pretty much already managed to get a second date, so if he didn’t kiss him now he’d mostly likely get to kiss him later. But he didn’t want to wait until later.

 

Sora’s mouth was curved into a smile when Riku closed the distance between them, and his lips were warm and damp when he pressed his own to them. His breath tasted sweet, from the soda he’d been drinking all night. Their hands untangled so Sora could lift them and wrap around Riku’s waist, the warmth of his palms sinking through his shirt. He put his own hands on both sides of Sora’s jaw, his fingertips brushing through soft chestnut brown hair, their heads tilting just to the right angle so the kiss could deepen.

 

A tiny happy hum escaped Sora when Riku teased his lips open with his tongue, and he dipped into Sora’s mouth slowly, running along the edges of his teeth until he felt the other’s tongue meet his own. He pulled Sora a little closer, his smaller body pressed close and he could tell the other was standing on his toes to get a better reach.

 

The kiss was as wonderful as a first kiss was supposed to be and he could feel arousal pooling in his gut just from how good Sora felt pressed up against him, his tongue and lips doing all the right things to his own. He felt a strong burst of air brush past his upper lip, and he pulled away so they could both take a breath. For a moment Riku kept his eyes closed, his lips still tingling from the sensation.

 

Their lips were still practically pressed together, barely a hair’s breadth apart when Sora spoke, “Told you before I’m not a patient person. You didn’t think I was going to get on that tram without getting a kiss goodnight.” Riku opened his eyes just in time to see Sora’s blue eyes open and his tongue darting out to lick his own lips, as if chasing any taste of Riku on his own.

 

Riku looked up and saw there was just one minute remaining, and in the distance he heard the rattle of the tram approaching. “You uhm… I think you’re really great.” Riku said, immediately feeling foolish.

 

Sora however, smiled even brighter than before. “Good! Because I think you’re really great too. And I hope you’re gonna call me to make plans to go to one of those non-sticky floored restaurants you were talking about, even if it’s just so you can kiss me like that again.” He pressed one more kiss firmly to Riku’s mouth and Riku just about melted. “Time’s up!”

 

He pulled away and it took everything in Riku’s willpower not to pull him back into his arms. The tram came to a rattling stop beside them and Sora crossed the platform to push the button on the door. It opened with a swishing sound and he stepped inside.

 

“I’ll call you!” Riku said just as the doors slipped shut. Sora was still smiling at him as the tram pulled away, his blue eyes sparkling, holding his phone up to aim in Riku’s direction.

 

Once the tram disappeared from sight Riku turned and made his way up the stairs so he could find his car. Above ground his phone suddenly buzzed, his reception back on now that he wasn’t underground anymore. It was a message from Sora with a picture attached to it.

 

It was a picture of Riku, looking straight at Sora’s phone, who had apparently been taking a picture of him as the tram pulled away. He was almost a little flustered to see how smitten he looked.

 

**Sora (+xx-xxxx-xx)**

_If that’s the way you’re gonna look at me, I’m gonna have to let you drive me home next time. :)_

 

As he made his way to his car Riku was already looking up places to go he was sure didn’t have sticky floors.

 

It was the least he could do to get a man like Sora to kiss him like that again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was just in a ridiculously romantic mood, and this is the result. I'll definitely be writing more of these, all of their firsts and important moments that aren't in the rest of the story, including some flashbacks to Riku's not so swell lifestyle and how he met Mickey and how Sora got into drag.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed and if you'd like to follow me on Twitter, you can find me at @laughertea.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku pushes himself too far. Sora deals with it adequately.

**Lea (not Lee) 14:56PM**

How much trouble would it be come pick your manfriend up from the office?

 

**You 14:59PM**

uh no trouble? why what happened?

 

**Lea (not Lee) 15:00PM**

He’s uh, incapacitated himself.

 

**You 15:00PM**

what does that mean?!?!

 

**You 15:01PM**

HELLOO!!

 

**Lea (not Lee) 15:02PM**

I think he fucked up his back. I’ll explain when you get here. He tried to go down to drive himself home, but now he’s flat on his back on the floor of his office.

 

**You 15:03PM**

OMW!! tell him to stay flat and breathe deep, be there in 20 mins. if he moves tranquillise him with smth

 

**Lea (not Lee) 15:04PM**

You got it!

 

As always the receptionist at Riku’s work was less than thrilled to see him, especially looking haphazard and a little sweaty from running as quick as he could. With a curt hello she put a visitor’s keycard on the counter without him even saying his name or why he was there. Not in the mood to dignify her rudeness with a response Sora walked quickly to the elevators and pressed the number for Riku’s floor.

 

The elevator felt like the longest he’d ever been in. Lea’s message had genuinely made his heart stop for just a moment.

 

The ding that he’d arrived on Riku’s office floor sounded so loud it made Sora jump.

 

“Oh jeez, you’re here. Thank goodness!” Lea stood from his desk and grabbed him gently by the arm. “The meeting this morning was a nightmare. That Ansem was even creeping me out, and after the first hour I thought the chief was gonna start turning purple. I mean… I couldn’t quite figure out if he was trashing him or flirting with him, but either way it made my stomach turn.”

 

Sora listened with wide eyes and let himself be led past Lea’s desk to Riku’s office. Riku had been mum lately on any issues at work, despite Sora’s needling to talk to him if he was stressed.

 

“Why won’t Mickey say anything about it?” Sora asked before Lea could open the door. The idea of another man flirting with Riku put his teeth a little on edge, but not much because he wasn’t an easily jealous person by nature, but the idea of a man like Ansem — even though he’d never met him — made him as nauseous as Lea was describing himself becoming.

 

“Not sure. I’m guessing the chief asked him not to, he’s dead set on not losing an inch of face in front of the other bigwigs.” He put his hand on the doorknob. “Take him home, please and make sure he stays in bed for a few days. If this keeps going on it’s either going to end in tears or first degree murder. His mood is nuclear waste right now, so tread carefully.”

 

Luckily, after a year of dating Sora had learned to handle a grumpy Riku. He walked straight into the room when Lea opened the door.

 

On the floor lay Riku, flat on his back with his knees drawn up. His suit jacket lay haphazardly on the floor near him, his bright hair messy, his eyes closed and his face twisted in a grimace. The door clicked shut behind Sora, which made Riku open his eyes and turn his head towards the door, which elicited a painful noise from him.

 

“Don’t move!” Sora said, crossing the room to him.

 

“I told him not to call you.” Riku said, his voice a little hoarse. Despite his still commanding tone, it was very obvious from his face and body language that he was in a great deal of pain.

 

Sora scoffed and got down on his knees next to his ailing boyfriend. “I think now is as good a time as any for you to realise that Lea does a lot of things despite what you tell him to do.”

 

Riku laughed a little but cringed immediately. “Please don’t make me laugh.”

 

“Okay,” Sora said, standing up again. “I’m going to stand over you and I’m going to get you upright. Try not to put any strength into it and let me lift you.” Even though Riku was a good head taller than him and reasonably built, Sora was confident he could lift the other man off the ground without too much effort. He stood over Riku’s bent legs, bent over himself and held out both hands for Riku to take hold of, which Riku took gingerly. Sora’s hands curled tightly around them, getting a good grip. “You ready?” Riku nodded and breathed in sharply. “Okay, no… try and relax, stop holding your breath.” A deep flush was already on Riku’s face and it seemed to be getting deeper the more stressed he became. “You’re gonna breathe in deeply for three seconds, and on three you’re gonna exhale and I’m gonna pull you up, okay?”

 

Riku nodded again.

 

“One,” Riku began to breathe in deeply. “two, three!” And on an exhale that sounded like it came all the way from Riku’s toes, Sora hauled him up in one smooth movement.

 

It wasn’t often that Riku swore, but the colorful language that came out of him once he was upright made Sora mash his lips together to keep from bursting into laughter. It ebbed quickly when Riku sagged a little against him, an almost silent whimper made its way past his lips.

 

“Oh, _honey_ ,” Sora said, gripping him a little tighter when he felt a slight tremble make its way through Riku’s body. “time to go home, okay? Lean on me.”

 

“I hate it when you call me that.” Riku said with a frown, leaning heavily on Sora as they made their way slowly to the door of his office.

 

Sora used one arm to support him, and the other to open the door once they reached it. “You love it when I call you that.” Riku harrumphed but didn’t argue with him.

 

Because fancy offices were the way they were, the door was a lot heavier but thankfully it opened easily when someone on the other side gave it a push. Lea pushed himself in and held the door open for them.

 

“I told you not to call him.” Riku said to Lea with a lukewarm glare.

 

Lea shrugged. “I didn’t. I texted him.”

 

“ _Lea_. Could you get his jacket and bag, so I don’t have to deal with that first degree murder you mentioned before?”

 

Lea smirked but disappeared quickly into Riku’s office before said murder could take place. It only took a minute before he walked back out, dark blue suit jacket in one hand and leather, overstuffed bag in the other. He reached into one of the side pockets and fished Riku’s car keys out. “Car’s parked one the left side of the elevators in the garage.”

 

Riku glared again when Sora batted his hand away when he tried to take his own things, shouldering the bag himself and folding his jacket over his free arm. “Why do you even know that?”

 

“I know more about you than I think you’re aware of.” Lea said. “Your schedule’s cleared for the rest of the day, do me a favor and try not to think about work until you can stand upright without help again.” It was amusing on some level how Lea and Riku spoke to each other, despite their professional relationship. Sora was sure most assistants didn’t speak to their bosses like that. Riku would probably hate having a simpering assistant anyway.

 

“Let me know if anything happens.” Riku said as he let himself be guided gently towards the elevator.

 

Just before the elevator doors closed Lea gave them a wave. “I’ll do no such thing!”

 

—-

 

Getting Riku in the car was a challenge. Convincing Riku that no, he was in no fit state to drive was a challenge. Driving through the city to his apartment was the slowest Sora had ever driven a car. It was like having a new born baby in the front seat, only this baby hissed every time they took a sharp turn or hit a speed bump.

 

By the time they made it to Riku’s front door, he was sighing like Sora had forced him to walk naked through the streets of Uptown. “You know what the worst part was?”

 

“What’s that?” Sora said, blissfully thankful the door opened just from holding Riku’s phone up against a sensor. Hyper modern luxury apartments, there was nothing quite like them.

 

“I dropped my pencil. That’s it. I dropped my pencil and I bent over to pick it up and it was like my spine cracked in half.” He sounded almost mournful, that such a small gesture had managed to fell him.

 

“That’s lower back pain for you. My mom throws her back out all the time, last time she got it, it was because she bent over to pull a plate out of the dishwasher.” Sora said, setting Riku’s bag down and laying Riku’s jacket gently over the back of the couch. “It’s not your spine, it’s your muscles and nerves. They just need to relax.”

 

The very idea of anything about Riku needing to relax seemed so egregious to him, he groaned loudly. “I don’t know how.”

 

“Three weeks ago we spent a week at the beach, you did just fine then.” Sora led them up the stairs slowly, his arm still firmly wrapped around Riku. The other man’s body was so tense it was like holding a warm, man shaped wooden plank.

 

“That’s different, it was the beach. Plus,” They reached the top of the stairs and Riku stopped them both to catch his breath. “we had a lot of sex. I think I was in a week long permanent state of afterglow.” Sora couldn’t help himself, he burst out laughing. If Riku wasn’t in pain, he would’ve tackled him. “How does this even happen?”

 

They made their way down the hall until they reached the bedroom. Sora almost felt relieved. “Stress, most likely in your case.”

 

“We _just_ went on vacation.” Riku seemed shocked that a week long getaway hadn’t made all of his stress and frustration vanish in the sun.

 

Unwilling to give a reply to such a silly thing to say, Sora began to undress his boyfriend, mindful not to make him work too hard for it. By the time he was down to his boxers and white t-shirt he was trembling again, his back stiff as a board but tilted at an awkward angle. “Stay there for a second.” Sora let go of him slowly so he could push the blankets and pillows on Riku’s side of the bed out of the way. “Come on, you lie down and I’m gonna get you some yummy painkillers.”

 

“Painkillers make me woozy.” Riku halfheartedly protested, slowly and gingerly lowering himself on the bed.

 

“That’s the idea, pumpkin.” Sora replied, ignoring Riku’s scoff at the pet name. “Lay as flat as you can. If it hurts to lie on your stomach, you can try lying on your side.” Riku did as he was told and lay as flat as he could, but on his back, his eyes on the ceiling.

 

“Why does it hurt so much?” Riku asked, sounding uncharacteristically soft. There was still a deep flush on his cheeks that worried Sora so when he returned to the bedside with a glass of water and ibuprofen he reached down to test if he felt hot.

 

The skin of Riku’s throat against the back of Sora’s hand was slightly warmer than it should be, but not worryingly so. “Because lower back pain is the worst, you’ve got loads of nerve endings down there, so the pain’s a lot worse than say, your shoulders or upper back. Put your arm around my neck so I can pull you up.” Riku did as he was told and Sora lifted him with a supporting arm under his shoulder blades.

 

Riku took the medication without much fuss, before he let Sora lower him down again. He immediately moved to lie on his side, pulling legs up a bit. “You’re a little warm, but it’s probably because you’re in pain. The ibuprofen should kick in soon.”

 

“Sometimes I forget you’re not just a photographer.” Riku said, mildly in awe at how efficiently Sora was handling the situation. The other man could be unorganised and a little airheaded on occasion, but he seemed to be taking Riku’s ailment in perfect stride. “Ever think about getting your masters? You’re so good at this.”

 

Sora hummed and reached a hand down, to press lightly against Riku’s lower back. He hissed at first because it was so sensitive, but the pressure wasn’t painful. In fact, the heat of Sora’s hand felt nice. “I barely managed to get my bachelors, I’m not exactly the smartest person in the world.”

 

“Don’t say that,” Riku said, but immediately regretting it because his muscles tensed up and a shot of pain raced through his back. “you _are_ smart.”

 

“And you are going to let those meds make you woozy enough to fall asleep.” Sora leaned down to press a kiss to Riku’s cheek. “I have a job at five so technically I have to leave now, but if you want I can cancel and stay here with you.”

 

Riku, whose head was already getting fuzzy and his eyes droopy, shook his head and mumbled a little. “No, ’s okay, I’ll be fine.”

 

“I’ll ask if someone can come by and check on you, I won’t be home until later.” When Riku didn’t protest Sora leaned down and gave him one more kiss in his hairline before reaching down to pull the comforter over him. After a few minutes Riku’s breathing got heavier and Sora stood up and crept out of the room as quietly as he could.

 

He pulled his phone out of his pocket.

 

**You 16:32PM**

Kai- Riku hurt himself at work so he’s home, can u come by and check on him in an hour or two if ur not busy?

 

**Kairi <3 16:34PM**

Oh no! OoO Is he okay??? And sure!

 

**You 16:34PM**

thanku!! he’s fine just threw his back out. i’ve got a job downtown till nine. i stuffed him full of painkillers so he should be out for a few hours.

 

**Kairi 16:35PM**

It’s no trouble! ^3^ I’ll swing by after dinner. Does he know I’m coming?

 

**You 16:36PM**

y! i’ll tell his doorman ur coming, he’ll let you in. ur the GREATEST

 

**Kairi 16:37PM**

IK! ^_^

 

Sora hurried to get his things together, feeling pleased Kairi could come and check on Riku but still feeling slightly guilty. It was the first time since they had gotten together that Riku had stayed home because there was something wrong. Not even a cold or little flu. Hopefully the party he was taking photos at wouldn’t take longer than necessary.

 

He sped out the door.

 

—-

 

The whole room felt hazy and warm when Riku woke. He could tell it was later, because the sun had gone down. It took him a moment to remember why he was even in bed in the first place, until he felt a serious twinge in his back when he tried to move his leg to the overly warm comforter him.

 

“Riku?” A soft voice came from the doorway that sounded familiar but definitely wasn’t Sora. He turned his head as far as he decided to just slowly roll onto his back. “Oh! Don’t move too much, let me help you!” She rushed over to him.

 

“Hi, Kairi.” He said, his head still woozy and his mouth feeling like it was stuffed with cotton wool.

 

She smiled at him. “I wasn’t sure if you’d need to get up, so I brought some help with me. I hope you don’t mind.” A Sora shaped figure appeared behind her until it was close enough for Riku to realise who it was.

 

“It’s your lucky day.” Vanitas made zero effort to keep his voice low and it always shocked Riku how they looked practically identical but were also complete opposites of each other. Kairi turned from where she was sitting on the edge of Riku’s bed to glare at Vanitas.

 

“Van, please…” Sora told Riku about the fact that Kairi and Vanitas were now something of an item, but they were the most jarring couple he’d come across in ages. Kairi was no pushover, but like Sora, there was something inherently sweet about her. Vanitas was, in Sora’s own words, kind of an asshole. Pretty much all of the time. How either of them could stand to be around one another was a mystery to him. “I’ll get you something to eat, Riku. Even if you’re not hungry, you shouldn’t be taking painkillers on an empty stomach.”

 

She stood, “Van, give him a hand up so he can do stuff?”

 

“You mean, if he needs to piss.” Vanitas turned his head around Kairi, who was undoubtedly giving Vanitas a disapproving glare. “Do you need to take a piss?”

 

Riku rolled his eyes and nodded. “Please. Though getting me upright is the only help I need, thanks.” The idea of being led to the bathroom by his boyfriend’s antisocial, slightly mentally unhinged brother was a daunting prospect indeed and one he was determined to avoid, even if it meant being in slightly more pain.

 

Kairi left the room and Vanitas loomed over him like a threatening, dark version of Sora. “You and Sora look so alike, and I really dislike that.”

 

Vanitas burst out laughing. “Why, am I turning you on?”

 

“Are you five? No, you’re not turning me on, it just freaks me out.”

 

“Well, I’m nothing like my little brother.” He bent over and put an arm under Riku’s shoulder, with much less finesse than Sora had done. “I’m not trained to do this, so I’m just gonna yank you up and hope for the best, alright?”

 

Riku took a deep breath and nodded. Vanitas pulled him up in one sharp movement, which hurt enough to make Riku cry out, but not enough to keep him from staying on his feet. “Fucking fuck shit motherfucker…” He mumbled, not noticing the admiring look on Vanitas’ face.

 

“Come on, mister potty mouth, it’s potty time.”

 

“I dislike you on so many levels.”

 

—-

 

One awkward trip to the bathroom, one bowl of slightly salty soup and a nice piece of buttered bread and a new round of painkillers later, Riku was propped up against the headboard, despite Sora’s orders to lay flat. He’d lie back down when Kairi and Vanitas left. Kairi had taken his bowl and plate back to the kitchen to clean up. Vanitas had made himself a little too comfortable on Sora’s side of the bed.

 

“I never gave you the shovel talk, did I?” Vanitas asked, his face far too relaxed and pleasant despite what was coming out of his mouth.

 

“There’s no need, believe me. I got one hell of a shovel talk from Roxas. And Ventus, surprisingly enough.” Riku said, blinking away the drowsiness setting in again from the painkillers.

 

Vanitas turned to him and looked impressed. “Ventus, really? Huh.” He rearranged his position on the bed so he was facing Riku. “Here’s the thing, I kinda do. Because I may be lacking in pretty much every social skill there is, I love my little brother something fierce. And the last motherfucker to break his heart got off far too easy as far as I’m concerned. He was uh,” Vanitas almost looked pained to think back of Sora’s emotional state after his last breakup. “boy, he was in a bad place. He ever tell you what happened?”

 

Riku shook his head. Sora had never mentioned it and Riku had never asked, though he was sure Sora would tell him if he did.

 

“I don’t think he’ll mind, and if he does, oh fucking well.” Vanitas crossed his arms. “So we’re at this family get-together, I don’t even remember why, I think a great aunt turning a hundred… so Sora and his then boyfriend are doing the rounds but there’s something off about them. Sora’s smiling like someone shoved an entire light installation up his ass and you know it’s gotta be rough if that kid’s faking it… and moron of an ex-boyfriend keeps pulling his hand away whenever Sora tries to take it, or ignoring him when he talks to him.”

 

Even though Riku had never met the man, rage bubbled up inside him at the thought of someone treating Sora in such a way. Riku knew there were things he needed to work on, being emotionally open with him, keeping a fair amount of space between his personal life and his work, it went on… but he would never disrespect him like that, in public or otherwise.

 

“At some point they’re in the kitchen arguing, not loud enough that anyone can actually hear what they’re saying but loud enough for everyone in the next room to know they were arguing.” Vanitas and Riku looked up when Kairi rejoined them, looking a little sad when she heard the story Vanitas was telling. “Then this asshole comes out of the kitchen, loudly declaring how if Sora wasn’t going to be honest with his family, then he would!”

 

Dread filled Riku’s stomach. He knew this part in very broad strokes, how his ex had outed him to his family for doing drag and then promptly broke up with him.

 

“Stood there, the little weasel, while Sora’s begging him not to say anything and just comes out and tells them Sora does drag. In significantly more colorful language than that.” Vanitas began to looked aggravated at the mere memory of what had happened that day. “Sora just stood there, like he was a in shock. Roxas had the good sense to kick the bastard out, but not before he could turn around and dump him right in front of everyone. Saying something about how he couldn’t pretend to be comfortable with him being a, what did he call him?” He gestured to Kairi, who sat down next to Riku on the bed.

 

“I don’t want to say.” Kairi said. “It wasn’t very nice. I wasn’t there when it happened, but he told me once and I never want to say that word, especially when it has something to do with Sora.”

 

Riku had an idea what word had been used, and he was glad Kairi didn’t want to say it, because he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear it.

 

Vanitas sighed. “Anyway, once Roxas kicked him out Sora just smiled at everyone and said he’d be right back. I followed him, because I think me and Rox and Ven were the only ones who knew about him doing drag. Found him in the bathroom upstairs, staring into a mirror. All I had to do was look at him and he broke down, he kept asking me what he’d done wrong, why he would say such horrible things about him, that he wasn’t hurting anyone with what he did.”

 

Suddenly Riku was reminded of how scared Sora had been when Riku had found out. He must have been terrified Riku would do the same, humiliate him and call him horrible names and make him think he wasn’t worth loving anymore just because he liked to feel pretty sometimes.

 

“It took awhile for him to have the nerve to date anyone after that,” Kairi picked up where Vanitas left off. “he’d never let it go past a first or second date. To be honest we were all holding our breath for the longest time when you two started dating. It’s not that we didn’t think you were a nice guy, but Sora had been so hurt the last time, we were all just nervous it might happen again.”

 

Vanitas picked himself up off the bed and straightened his black leather jacket. “So far you’ve done a pretty good job, but I really would love to reiterate, if you do anything to intentionally hurt him there is honestly no stone you can hide under. And I don’t care how much money or influence you have, I will fuck you up.”

 

Despite being on the receiving end of the shovel talk, Riku was impressed. A moment of clarity through the haze of painkillers made him nod. “Understood.”

 

Kairi looked up at Vanitas with a mildly amused look on her face. “I second that. But you already know that.” She winked at Riku.

 

“Thank you for telling me. I don’t know if he’ll mind that you did, but I’m glad he didn’t have to tell that story. It must have been awful to live through, let alone having to drag it up again.” Vanitas nodded at him, and Kairi leaned down to kiss Riku’s cheek.

 

“We really do think you’re good people, Riku. And he’s so crazy about you.” Her small hand was warm on his shoulder. “Try and get some more rest, Sora should be home any time now.”

 

“The door locks on your way out.” Riku said, and began to slide back down in bed to lie flat.

 

“Keep breathing till he gets home.” Vanitas said in lieu of goodbye while Kairi leaned down to tuck him in.

 

She reminded Riku of Naminé sometimes, which made him feel even better. “Feel better, Riku. And don’t worry too much about what we told you, he’s so happy nowadays he probably barely remembers it even happened.”

 

Riku nodded and smiled against her hand when she ruffled his hair.

 

He was asleep before he heard the front door shut.

 

—-

 

“… I see a peak of green, I think.”

 

When Riku woke once more, it was light out again so that meant he’d slept straight through the night and hadn’t even heard Sora come in. His back still hurt, though it felt more like a stiff pain than the electric pain he’d felt yesterday. His eyes opened slowly to the sight of Sora on his knees in bed. He was wearing a t-shirt that showed just a sliver of tan — tan that had gotten even deeper since their beach holiday — stomach before hiding away again in a pair of silky looking boxers that edged more on the feminine side.

 

It was so nice to see Sora acting like himself around him.

 

“G’morning.” Riku mumbled, happy not to be as hot as the last time he woke up. Likely because Sora had opened a window so the cool night air could bring the room temperature down. “Time is it?”

 

Sora leaned over to press a long, chaste kiss to Riku’s lips. When it broke he replied, “Early. I texted Lea to say you weren’t coming in.” He in no way looked apprehensive for Riku’s reaction, likely because he already knew that there was no arguing with him. “I heard Kairi let Van tag along. Sorry if they ambushed you.”

 

Riku hummed and tried to rearrange himself so he was more comfortable. “It’s fine… though I could’ve done without your brother hearing me go to the bathroom.”

 

Sora groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Ughh, that’s awful, I should’ve cancelled and stayed with you.”

 

“No, it’s fine. I think we have a new found respect for each other.” Just not in the way Sora thought, but that was alright.

 

Sora curled down in the bed and crowded himself up against Riku’s front, while reaching behind him to take one of the firmer pillows so he could position it against Riku’s lower back. He then pulled the comforter up so it wasn’t tangled in Riku’s legs and curled bother arms around his waist so he could rest his hands on the taller man’s lower back, massaging gently.

 

“If a doctor asks, I didn’t do this for you.” Sora said against the skin of Riku’s throat. He smells masculine, the cologne he always wears still clinging to his skin but he also smells a little soft and musky, having just woken up but his skin is so warm and soft and the tickle of the tiny hairs that had begun to sprout again on his legs combined with the silky fabric around his hips made Riku want to pull him closer and make him beg for something.

 

“I won’t say a word, I swear.” Riku replied, his eyes still closed and trying not to get too aroused considering his back would keep him from doing anything at all about it.

 

“Got a show in a week, I got a new dress for it.” Sora said. “It’s red.”

 

Riku groaned a little and pulled Sora closer, even if it made his back twinge. “What are you wearing underneath it?” Not only was Riku learning an appreciation for his boyfriend in women’s clothes, he was also rapidly gaining an appreciation for his boyfriend in women’s underclothes.

 

Sora laughed breathily. “Who says I’m wearing anything underneath it?”

 

That was going to be the longest two hours of his life, sitting in a room while his boyfriend danced and laughed on stage and made other people laugh, knowing full well he had nothing on underneath the red dress he’d be wearing.

 

“You really worried me,” Sora said, suddenly serious. “with this. I hate seeing you hurt.”

 

“I know, baby.”

 

“But don’t you know I’m here for you, to help you with your problems. Especially the creepy variety.”

 

Riku felt some of the tension ease from his back as Sora continued to massage the tense muscles there. “I know that. I’m just a little… stubborn.”

 

“It’s a good thing you told me, or I would’ve never known.”

 

It only seemed fair, to tell Sora everything that had led him to being so petrified with frustration whenever Ansem was in the room, now that he knew what had hurt Sora so bad in the past he’d felt like he couldn’t completely trust Riku enough to show him all the parts of him, even the secret ones.

 

“I’ll tell you. But not now. I just called in sick for the first time since I started working for Mickey, I’m going to enjoy this moment and try not to let my brain melt down.”

 

“Technically, I called you in sick.” Sora laughed and tucked his head underneath Riku’s chin. “And don’t worry, if it starts leaking, I’ll get a bucket.”

 

“Told you you were good at this.” Riku joked quietly and drifted off to the sound of Sora giggling sleepily.

 

He really, really was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, here's another one. This is turning out to be a pretty long story because it's nowhere near finished so buckle up if you're enjoying yourself, it's gonna be a long ride. 
> 
> First chapter where Riku shows some vulnerability, which we all know he's great at (not) both in and out of canon. Next chapter his relationship with Ansem will get more foreground. Also, next chapter will feature Sora's first show as a drag queen, which means more Vanitas and some more Lea/Isa and Roxas time.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed and as always, follow me on Twitter if you'd like, I'm at @laughertea.
> 
> PS, Happy belated 16th/17th/31st birthday Sora!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku sees Sora in action, they don't do a little dance but they do make a little love, and Riku pops the question every man wants to hear from his boyfriend - do you want to be on TV?
> 
> There is smut in this chapter, so if that's not your thing, skip the middle.

“If you weren’t planning on going anywhere, you’re in luck!” The man onstage said with a bored tone, but with a flourish of his arm. He wore a muted fuchsia suit with at least three silk scarves tied around his neck and from his spot by the bar Riku could see the grease shining in his slicked back hair. “Because this pretty little thing usually only does the early shows.”

 

Riku readjusted his spot on the barstool with some excitement.

 

“Will you stop,” Vanitas said from beside him. “You’ve seen him perform before.”

 

“Dancing,” Riku shot back, taking a sip of his drink and not making eye contact with Vanitas. “I’ve seen him dance, but never do a skit.”

 

“A set,” Vanitas said with a tone that rivalled the MC’s in boredom levels. “Not a skit. He’s just gonna stand up there in a tight dress and try to make people laugh.”

 

Riku ignored him and turned back to the stage.

 

“Without further ado, and grateful for the two drink minimum, here’s our own little miss Sunshine herself, miss Sora!” He gave another wave to the back of the stage, heavy velvet curtains opening suddenly.

 

Out shot Sora like he’d been shoved from behind, dressed in a blue pencil skirt and a blouse made of a floaty, shimmery peach colored material that showed just a peek of bare shoulder. Where usually spiky chestnut hair was, there was a blonde wig, curled too perfectly for it to be real hair. His jewellery was tasteful and he wore sparkly flats that kept catching Riku’s eye. The crowd applauded.

 

Sora stumbled up to the microphone and cleared his throat. “You know it’s gotta be bad if he calls _me_ that in a place like _this_.” 

 

The crowd laughed. The bar was a bit run down and the decor looked like it was at least sixty years old, but it had a certain charm to it. Even if Riku felt slightly out of place in his expensive suit. He’d come straight from work without stopping at home to change. Most of the crowd were dressed casually, and were slightly more artistic types.

 

“Eyes up here, sir.” Sora was saying to a man at one of the front tables. “Trust me when I say that very little going on here,” He gestured broadly over his entire front with the hand that wasn’t holding the microphone. “is real.”

 

Riku laughed and without turning he heard Vanitas sniggering behind him. In a way he thought it was endearing how without fail Vanitas attended his brother’s shows, laughing at jokes he’d probably heard him tell a dozen times already. Only Riku was never entirely sure whether Vanitas liked him or wanted to stab him.

 

“But I can assure you, this,” Sora turned to show off the curve of his ass, now more pronounced than ever in the tight pencil skirt. “Most _certainly_ is.” The crowd applauded again, a few wolfwhistles from the back joining in. Sora giggled and crossed the stage.

 

“You’re all in luck tonight, because it just so happens I brought someone who can attest to that fact.” Sora stuck one hand out and gestured in Riku’s direction, whose eyes suddenly went a little wide and being called out. “My man is here to listen to me make drunk people laugh!” He suddenly looked to the back of the room to a man sitting alone at a table, clearly well into his cups. Probably a regular. “Oh, I _am_ sorry, Joe. But you know it was never going to work out between us.”

 

The tension of being called out lessened when more laughter burst out of him. It wasn’t that Riku didn’t think Sora was funny, he could laugh with him for hours. It’s just being funny with someone you know and care about is a whole different matter to getting up on a stage and making strangers laugh, no matter how inebriated they were.

 

“So, I got me a man.” Sora walked across the stage, microphone in one hand, the other on his hip. “And let me tell you, and most importantly, my mother _loooves_ him. He’s got the three R’s she always told me to look for in a man. Reliable, reputable and _rich!_ He’s an architect, which basically means he’s really great at drawing straight lines that other people turn into buildings. It’s pretty much the only straight thing about him. _”_ Riku laughed into his drink, looking up to make eye contact with Sora on the stage.

 

“It’s the beautiful man at the bar, with the silver hair, give him a hand.” And yet again the crowd started clapping, only this time it was in Riku’s direction. “Yeaaah, what can I say, he’s a catch. And I had to wade through a pretty muddy pool to catch this rainbow trout.” He looked down at the man who had been staring at Sora’s appearance when he first came on stage. “Because we’re gay, sir. Rainbow? Hello?” Both Vanitas and Riku laughed aloud with the rest of the room. “Sir, either put the drink down or I’m going to have to ask your wife to take it from you. The sign says two drink minimum, not twenty.”

 

Another fifteen minutes and so many jokes later, Sora gave his shoulder length blonde hair a flip and huddled behind the microphone stand as he tried to put it back on. “So that’s all you’re getting from me tonight, because believe it or not, you can get too much of a good thing. Stay awhile longer and be sure to enjoy what comes after… though I’m not entirely sure what that is. Anyway, enjoy your evening and don’t go repeating my jokes around town. I’ll know, make no mistake.” He smiled brightly and waved. “Thank you!”

 

He shuffled back in between the velvet curtains to the sound of applause. Riku clapped loudly, his face still flushed from laughing so hard.

 

“Oi, someone’s trying to catch your attention,” Vanitas said, pointing behind the side of the stage. “I’m gonna head out, tell him I said goodnight.”

 

Riku turned back to Vanitas. “You always just up and go like that?”

 

“It’s part of my air of mystery. He won’t mind.” And off he went, disappearing out the hall without so much as a look back.

 

A smiling Sora had peeked his head around the corner, beckoning with one hand for Riku to come to him. The next entertainer had entered the stage, and the lights went back down so Riku stood and walked to him.

 

Sora pulled him through an opening between the curtains and suddenly he was backstage, a messy room with rows of mirrors, cases, boxes and lights. There were half a dozen people backstage, in various states of dress and undress. Sora put his arms around Riku’s neck. “Well, what did you think?”

 

“Are you kidding me?” Riku said, placing his own hands on Sora’s astonishingly tiny waist. “That was incredible. Is there anything you can’t do? I laughed so hard I felt club soda go up my nose.”

 

Sora laughed happily and leaned up to kiss him. “I’m so glad,” He murmured against Riku’s lips. “I was afraid I wouldn’t be funny. I’ve done this set a dozen times, and I’m always afraid I’m not going to be funny.”

 

“You were hilarious,” Riku reaffirmed and bent his head down so their noses were touching. “And _so_ pretty.”

 

The blush on Sora’s face, which permeated even through the thick layer of makeup he was wearing told Riku how much he appreciated being called that. “You really shouldn’t say those things to me, I’ll have to do really bad things to you later…” He curled closer to Riku again, pressing his bright red lips to Riku’s jaw.

 

“And wouldn’t that be just the worst thing in the world,” Riku replied, one arm around Sora’s waist, the other drifting down to put his hand on the pleasing and very real curve of his ass.

 

Before they let it get any more inappropriate, Sora pulled away and took Riku by both hands. “Come on! I want to introduce you. Even if it’s just so everyone here will leave me alone.”

 

With just a touch of shyness, Riku let himself be pulled towards the people getting ready in the back. Five of the six of them were clearly drag queens, ranging widely in age and body shape. One of them was wearing eye makeup so thick, Riku could barely make out their own eyes. Another was like Sora, practically a woman, only with thick, long black hair and a look that made Riku a little nervous.

 

“Everybody, this is Riku!” Sora said excitedly. Everyone reacted at once.

 

One of the older queens came up to him. “Sora said you were pretty but good lord, I could eat you like a deep fried stick of butter.” Whatever that was. To be honest it sounded repulsive to Riku but he assumed it was a compliment.

 

“Mama Patty, you’re scaring him.” Sora warned, pulling Riku close to him by the arm.

 

“No, it’s fine.” Riku said, feeling terribly straight laced and out of place in between these people. “I don’t mind being called pretty, I mean… I paid enough for it.” Everyone burst out laughing, including Sora, who pressed his face to Riku’s sleeve as he giggled.

 

“Ugh, rich, good looking and funny. How’d you manage that?” Patty asked him, turning back to her mirror to finish her makeup.

 

“Don’t know,” Sora said, his teeth brilliantly white against the stark red of his lips. “He’s bound to figure out what he’s gotten himself at some point. Until them, I’m gonna enjoy the ride.”

 

“Something tells me someone’s definitely getting a ride tonight,” A queen at the back of the room called out, tying feathers into her hair. “You two ever fuck in drag?”

 

“Charlamaine, you forget about having manners?” Patty replied in her boisterous voice. “Don’t mind her,” She said to Riku. “She was born without a filter.” Riku shrugged in reply.

 

Sora curled his fingers into Riku’s. “Is my brother still out front?”

 

Riku shook his head. “He cleared out when you called me backstage. You wanna clean up here or at home?”

 

“If you don’t mind letting a blonde tart get in your fancy car, I’ll take it all off at home.” Sora gave his hand a little shake, the bangle around his writer tinkling musically.

 

“I never let any other kind of tarts get in my car,” Riku said and took a blonde curl between his fingers and let it go to watch it bounce.

 

Sora let go of his hand and turned away. “I’ll get my things and we’ll go.”

 

“Not gonna stay for the afters, Little Miss Sunshine?” Another queen called out from their makeup station.

 

“Think I’ll pass, Afrodite, next time!” How Sora could stand spending nearly an hour and a half getting ready only to take it all off again after thirty minutes was beyond Riku’s understanding, but he admired the discipline that went into it.

 

Riku turned and went back into the hall.

 

“Okay, let’s go.” Sora said, his bag in one hand, the other reaching for Riku’s.

 

—-

 

Halfway between getting cleaned up, Riku had walked into the bathroom. He’d taken one look at Sora leaning naked against the counter, body completely back to his undeniably male self but his wig and his makeup still as perfectly in place as it had been when they left the club and pulled his jacket off, crowding Sora up against the counter.

 

“You have any idea how sexy you look,” Riku breathed, kissing wetly down the side of Sora’s throat, who leaned his head obediently to the side to offer him better reach. He began unbuttoning his shirt but his hands were sloppy with the adrenaline of arousal. “Fuck, of course you do, looking at me like that.”

 

Sora turned in his arms suddenly, and made short work of the remaining closed buttons. He pushed Riku’s shirt off his shoulders roughly, not bothering to open the buttons around his wrists. If he tore any buttons off he didn’t really care. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sora replied in a low voice, his lips still perfectly red. “You’re the one who just pushed into my bathroom and started acting like I don’t already give it you nearly every night.” He yelped when Riku picked him up with an arm around the waist and set him on the edge of the bathroom counter.

 

“Don’t you wanna give your friends at the club something to talk about?” Riku asked, and Sora heard the clinking of his belt opening and the shucking sound of his suit pants dropping low enough so he could pull his dick out. It was hard and pink and Sora leaned back against the mirror, blonde curls bunching up against the glass and his tongue running along his red lips. Distantly he heard the click of a bottle open.

 

“They have enough to talk about without… ah, Riku!” He cried out suddenly, the feeling of two fingers slipping inside him throwing him off his teasing. He was so turned on he could barely stand just his boyfriend’s fingers inside him. “Just like that, huh… yes, _yes_ , that’s so…” His entire body felt like it was burning, his own dick hard against his stomach. He leaned up to kiss Riku, gasping into his open mouth when the other man made a particularly interesting gesture with the fingers inside Sora’s body, the low friction of them making his knees shake.

 

Riku leaned over to take one of Sora’s nipples in his mouth, sucking languidly on the small nub and running his teeth over it enough to make the other man shiver. He moved over to the other one as he used his thumb to rub at the skin between Sora’s balls and where Riku’s fingers were currently doing their best, revelling in the way Sora’s mouth fell wide open, his breathing so heavy it was like he was running a marathon.

 

“Oh please, _please_ fuck me…” Sora begged, leaning back again so his ass hung halfway off the counter to give Riku better leverage. Riku pulled his fingers out slowly, taking a firm grasp of Sora’s hips before pushing inside.

 

The keening moan that left Sora’s mouth made Riku bite his lip to gain a little control. Surely he slid out and then back in, building a slow rhythm that gained speed by the minute, one hand wrapping one of Sora’s legs around his waist so it felt more grounded and he had a better grip on the body underneath him.

 

“Thought you were gonna do bad things to me,” Riku ground out, putting more force behind his thrusts. Never one to back down from a challenge, Sora reached up to tangle his fingers in Riku’s hair and gave it a sharp tug.

 

“W-why would I do that?” He asked, still panting heavily. “When you’re being such a _good boy_.”

 

“Fuck,” Riku ground out, leaning over so their bodies were pressed together, one hand around Sora, the other pressed up against the mirror. Redoubling his efforts, he pulled his hand away from the mirror to wrap around Sora’s dick, pumping it as quickly as he could without losing a rhythm. Sora’s panting turned to moaning, one hand tangling in Riku’s hair again, mumbling filthy nonsense against his ear.

 

“Riku, I’m c-coming, I…” Sora’s back curved upwards and they both felt wetness between their bodies. Immediately Sora’s body went pliant, despite Riku still fucking him. His thrusts became less coordinated as he felt the pull and tension of his orgasm. He buried his face in Sora’s neck, who wrapped both arms around his neck and head, mumbling encouragement as Riku came inside him with a low shout.

 

His hips stuttered a few more times, before they stilled, Sora’s fingers trailing through his hair. His back heaved with effort, Sora’s body still curled around his own. He stayed where he was for at least a minute or two to come back down to earth. With a shaky sigh he lifted his head and was met with bright blue eyes. “Hey you, where'd you go? Somewhere good, I hope.”

 

“Yeah,” Riku replied breathlessly. “Of course. Because I'm a good boy.”

 

Sora laughed shakily and took Riku’s chin in one hand to pull him into a kiss. It was slow and almost gentle compared to the frantic sex they’d just had. Suddenly fatigue set in along with the afterglow, and he reached up to gingerly take his wig off. He knew once he took the wig cap off he’d probably look insane, but one look over the edge of the counter showed Riku’s pants still around his ankles so he didn’t feel quite so silly.

 

As if the other could read his mind, Riku stepped out of his pants, kicking them to the side without a second thought. “How did none of this come off?” He asked Sora, running a slow thumb over his red lips. His eyes were smudged, one set of lashes had started to let go and there was definitely some of his makeup on Riku’s face but his lips were still just as perfect as when he’d put it on.

 

“I’d tell you, but if I do, all the mystery in our relationship will be gone.” Sora said with straight face, wriggling up and pulling off his wig cap, revealing slightly droopy, damp spiky hair.

 

“We just fucked in the bathroom and I think half your face is on mine. When it comes to mystery, I think the jig is up.” Riku retorted but he was a nice boyfriend so he helped Sora shimmy off the counter with both arms around him.

 

“Like this is the most un-mysterious place we’ve had sex. I blew you the other day while you were standing in front of the fridge while it was still open. You had an open can of soda in your hand for goodness’ sake.” Sora reached into one of his many bags and pulled out the jar of cold cream he used to wipe most of his makeup off.

 

Meanwhile, Riku laughed and stepped into the shower to turn it on. It wasn’t quite as fancy a shower as the one ensuite to the master bedroom, but it was still large enough to fit four people.

 

Riku stood a little to the side so Sora could wash his makeup off. He was fascinated how just earlier he’d watched him transform into this doe eyed lady that looked even cheekier and charming than Sora already did and now she was just melting away like she’d never even been there. It was like chrysalis and Riku was spellbound.

 

“You know… I saw this television show the other day. Not that I watch a lot of television, but… I think it had drag queens on it.” Riku said, joining Sora under the spray when he saw the makeup was mostly gone and Sora was just enjoying the warm spray of water.

 

“You mean Drag Race?” Sora replied lazily, not opening his eyes but he did wrap his arms around Riku’s waist. “What about it?”

 

Riku reached over for soap and began lathering it between his hands, running them slowly over his boyfriend’s body, who looked half asleep. “You’ve never wanted to try that out?”

 

Sora reacted as if Riku had just poked him hard, eyes shooting open and his neck straight up.

 

“Me? Audition for Drag Race?” Sora said with a disbelieving tone.

 

“Why not?” Riku sounded genuinely curious.

 

Sora blew a breath out, water splashing off his top lip. “Because I’ve just… never really thought about it? I know queens who have auditioned, but literally hundreds audition, the chances I’ll get picked are pretty much nothing. Besides, I’m just aesthetically strong. I know how to take a good picture.”

 

“You made someone laugh so hard tonight beer came out their nose.” Riku offered, reaching over to turn the shower off before both of them fell asleep. “And they actually seemed happy about it.”

 

“I… wow. This is really weird, you bringing this up. Wasn’t expecting it.” He said, not sounding unkind but genuinely surprised. “I’m also still got a brain like mush because you were a good boy gone bad just now.”

 

Riku actually blushed, despite having been there doing the bad things himself. “Bed, then?”

 

Sora stepped out of the shower first, drying off quickly with a towel. He was glad he hadn’t made too much a mess of the bathroom, most of it happening after Riku stormed in like the man with zero self control he apparently became when Sora was blonde and his clothes were anywhere but on his person. “Yes, please. What are we doing tomorrow?”

 

“Whole lot of nothing, as far as I’m concerned.” Riku replied, steering Sora out of the bathroom and in the direction of their bedroom. “No, sorry, it’s Saturday so that means tomorrow’s Sunday…”

 

“Stop it, you’re blinding me with science…”

 

Riku gave Sora’s aforementioned well formed sitting area a pinch, grinning when the other man yelped. “It’s Sunday, so that means I’ve got weekly lunchdate with Naminé.”

 

Their bed looked like heaven when they finally got the bedroom, the dark blue and cream colored sheets still a little rumpled from that morning. They’d been busy all day and evening, so neither of them had bothered with straightening anything out. Riku stopped at the end of the bed and picked up the pair of lounge pants he liked to sleep in while Sora made a beeline for his side of the bed, not bothering with anything, curling into the sheets like he’d been lying there the whole time.

 

“Gotcha.” Sora said, in between a loud yawn that ended in a squeaky noise that made Riku grin. “You two are so cute, sitting there all prim and proper, talking about art and the weather and other grownup stuff. I bet you two have calm discussions about your relationships too, like… if I’d known Sora was going to be such a slob, I’d never have invested my time and emotions in him.”

 

Riku laughed loudly. “You and Kairi don’t talk about grownup stuff?” He asked, curling onto his side so Sora could wrap himself around him. Despite being nearly a head taller than Sora, he liked switching his general big spoonness in the outside world in for some secret little spooning. Sora was pleased as anything when he found out Riku was secretly a big lump of softness.

 

“We gossip.” Sora yawned again. “And sometimes we talk about the weather.”

 

Riku laughed and bent his legs so Sora could bend his to fit alongside them. “I think you should do it.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Audition for that show.” Riku was a business man, and when he saw an opportunity he felt an inexplicable need to go for it. Especially after seeing how effortless Sora had entertained the crowd, how pretty he’d been, how confident.

 

“Okay…” Sora agreed, clearly already practically asleep. “Love you…”

 

Riku looked down at the tan hands that came together and rested on his stomach, the contrast against Riku’s pale skin pleasing in a way that he hadn’t learned to appreciate until he got a boyfriend whose job it was to see beauty in things people took for granted.

 

“I love you, too.” Riku replied, still looking at their hands.

 

Once he was sure Sora was asleep he sat up in bed, careful not to disturb him too much and clicked the television on. There were a pair of headphones he used sometimes to watch television after Sora had fallen asleep or when the other man wanted to sleep till noon and he put them on.

 

He had seven seasons to catch up on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter but I wanted to get a little of Riku seeing Sora on stage. He's mostly a dancer/lipsyncer but he does occasional comedy. 
> 
> Next chapter will involve more of them delving into the idea of auditioning for drag race and Riku takes Sora to a big party where he gets to meet and big name he's been dreading for months. Obv drama will happen. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, as always! If you'd like to see me ramble about Soriku and other random things, gimme a follow at @laughertea on Twitter.

**Author's Note:**

> Got the idea after binge watching RPDR, and had this crazy visual of Sora in the top three of RuPaul's Drag Race and super supportive boyfriend Riku in the audience getting drilled and cooed over. Then it just started to take on a life of its own. Planned a few chapters, I'll see where it takes me. 
> 
> Riku doesn't find out about Sora's after hours hobby until a few chapters in.  
> Additional pairings will be added as the story progresses. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> If you like to talk KH or Soriku, I'm on Twitter @laughertea


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